Trident
by Hentai-Sempai
Summary: This is a chronicle of the lives of Gid, Sephie and Zastin, and their lives through the Galactic Unification War. Paths will cross and destinies will interweave as the ongoing Charmian civil war escalates into a cross-species, inter-galactic conflict. Gid, Zastin and Sephie will stop at nothing to achieve what the whole universe hoped for- an age of peace, and unity.
1. Act 1 - Prologue

**Trident**

 **Chapter 1: Act 1- Prologue**

* * *

 ***Charmian Home-world Himni… twelve years ago…***

 **(Music for Mood: Arcade – Man of Steel OST)**

"Soldiers! After them! Don't let them get away!" The voice of a woman yelled, a hand pointing at the group of people running towards the cliffs. "We can't let them reach the ship!" She barked, watching on as the wave of soldiers around her crashed form behind her, obeying her command as they chased after people fleeing in the woods.

"Commander Apollyon… I know it's not my place…" A henchman beside the woman spoke up, his tone feeble. "But are you sure that we should be using deadly force against them? I mean… they're fellow Charmians… like us."

"They've left us no choice. Letting them go _will_ represent the downfall of our entire species." Princess Apollyon answered determinedly. "Now… do what I ordered," She pointed forward, "After them." She looked further into the woods.

"Brothers and sisters! We must make haste! Do not stop until we've boarded! The future of Charmians depends on us!" A man with white hair bellowed in response. Looking back towards the woods, she saw the distant line of soldiers swiftly edging forward towards their positions. The shuffling of leaves and plants coupled with the panicked screams instilled an urgency for her to run. "Hurry, we're almost at the cliffs!" She urged everyone else around her running towards the same direction, to the cliffs, away from the soldiers. Cradled in his arms was his little bundle of joy, wrapped in white cloth. The man smiled at his baby girl.

"Everything is going to be alright, my dear little Sephie…" The white haired man cooed at the baby child in his arms, a kind smile in his eyes. But that moment was cut short as a person beside him suddenly fell dead, shot in the back. The man snapped back into reality as he kept running for the edge of the forest, and towards the cliffs. All around him, he could feel the bullets' winds near him, whistling past him, or digging themselves into the dirt by his feet, or the people fleeing with him. But the edge of the woods was near, he could see it, the bright pink skyline. He couldn't stop, he couldn't turn back.

"Sentinel Gavreela and Cassiel, lay covering fire, non-lethal only! My daughter must survive, for the sake of the Charmian future."

"Yes sir!" The two warriors beside the man responded almost instantly, turning around and shielding the man, laying down supressing fire from their rifles.

At last, Charmians scattered out from the woods, running for their lives, towards the edge of the cliff where a moderately sized spaceship was hovering at the edge, a bridge laid onto the cliff.

"Everybody, get in!" Two Charmians guards in grey came out of the ship, crying out as they ushered the fleeing Charmians into the boat. "Captain, don't activate the kinetic barrier until we have Lord Mikail and princess Sephie on board. I repeat, do not activate the kinetic barrier until we have Lord Mikail and the princess!" The Charmian guard repeated into his microphone.

"We're taking fire!" The other guard yelled as he retaliated, laying down cover fire with his sidearm, buying time for the Charmians to board.

"I see Lord Mikail! He has princess Sephie!" The other guard announced. The two guards watched as the white haired man and the two sentinels right behind him. "Captain! Prep the engines and the barrier!"

"Gavreela, Cassiel, we've reached safeharbo-"

 **VVVRRRRRRRRMMMMMM…**

As Lord Charmian Mikail came towards the bridge of the ship, a loud and deep hum emanated from the spacecraft before him, and within moments, the spacecraft generated a shield of blue ethereal light. A protective dome around the spaceship. Mikail had just made it into the border of the shield. His sentinels however, weren't so lucky.

"My sentinels!" The Charmian shouted, turning for his two sentinels trapped on the other side of the protective dome.

"Don't worry about us! The spacecraft must leave, now!" Gavreela and Cassiel urged their Lord, banging against the translucent force field. "Go far far away, never stop! Apollyon is coming for your-"

Ffft!

The small sound of bullets whizzed as they pelleted towards the three Charmians' position. Those that hit the kinetic barrier simply disintegrated, protecting the person inside.

The two outside weren't so lucky.

"Gavreela! Cassiel!" Lord Mikail cried out for his fallen sentinels, his compatriots. Damned if he wanted to rush out and help them, but there was no way past the barrier. For he knew what was at stake. The child in his arms wailed as the man comforted her as best he could. The two guards from the bridge of the ship came to his side.

"Lord Mikail!" The voice of a woman from beyond the barrier hollered out, catching his attention.

"Apollyon…" The Charmian uttered, looking dead ahead. The woods and the cliff was now overrunning with Charmian soldiers, with the white haired woman, Apollyon, approaching the kinetic barrier.

"Poor Gavreela… poor Cassiel…they were so loyal…" The Charmian woman stepped over the two dead sentinels, inching her way towards the barrier. "Was all this worth their lives?"

"The dream that we carry, the SURVIVAL of our race!, is worth any price." Mikail countered.

"Charmians must never procreate outside our race, to do so would compromise our superior genetics and pollute our gene pool from which there's no return from." Apollyon warned. "Come to your senses, _Lord_ Mikail. We both want the same thing, to protect our species."

"Our genetics are no different than anyone else's. To put a genetic blocker on every Charmian child to ensure that they only reproduce with other Charmians is cruel and backwards thinking!" Mikail retorted. "We will become a minority race under your leadership! And then eventually wiped out!"

"The pureness of Charmian genes and our abilities need to be protected and kept to ourselves, inter-species procreation is blasphemy!"

"Every Charmian, every child..." Mikail paused and looked at Sephie. "Deserves a choice."

"..." Apollyon glared at the man, and he her. "…We shall see… dear brother." Apollyon sneered.

"Sister."

And with their final words, Mikail and the guards disappeared into the spaceship.

The Charmian soldiers could only watch as the ship pulled out from the cliff and ascended into the skies, breaking the bed of clouds and to the darkness beyond.

"Commander, shall I sent pursuit vehicles?" One henchman behind Apollyon asked.

"…Don't bother. They possess the fastest ship in the fleet, they'll be out of the cluster and our reach within the hour." The Charmian commander replied.

"They want a civil war… they've got it."

* * *

 **(Music for mood: Logan vs. X-24 – Logan OST)**

 _The air was calm and cool, very much like the figure standing in the lonely lonely mansion. The structure of stone stood 3 stories high, its contents old and decrepit. A soft veil of dust seemingly covering every surface. The unsettling breeze outside howled from the windows above, letting in the pale purple hue of light from the outside._

 _Silence._

 _"I know you're there!" The caped figure in the centre of the room called out, his long black hair tied to a ponytail behind him. "And I know you're after the treasure of our people!"_

"Ooh... Looks like we've got ourselves a smart one...~" A feminine voice crept from above.

"I call first dibs on the old man's bounty." Another spoke, male and old.

The man tiled his head upwards and observed with his crimson eyes. Lo and behold, five hooded figures stood stop of the railings of the third floor, like vultures surrounding a prey. "Unless you lot have something to trade, I'm afraid the five of you have no business. Leave me and my people alone."

"Your kind barely count as 'people' anyways." The female figure quipped from above.

"Four assassins... On a wild hunt for a treasure that you do not understand. Who are your buyers?" The caped man demanded. 'Assassins don't just work together like that... Something's off.'

"Give me what I want," One of the assassins responded. "And I promise I'll let the rest of the settlers live." He finished deviously.

"Don't suppose we can convince you just hand it over?" Yet another asked, a bored tone as he sat on the railings above.

"Don't suppose you can, no." The red eyed man replied quietly. "But!" He then pulled apart the collar of his black tunic open, revealing the ornament hidden underneath. Hanging around his neck was a small pendant of a trident. "You're more than welcome to take it. If you dare~" The man finished with a low tone, his steely crimson gaze narrowing.

" _Get him!" The assassin yelled._

 _In unison, the ring of four hooded assassins descended upon the figure below, their hooded cowls flapping in the air. The first one landed right atop of the man, his sledgehammer above his head ready to strike. But with incredible agility, the caped man spun around in a low stance. And from under his cape, out stretched a tail._

 _A tail of pure darkness, one which ended in a silver trident tip._

" _Aarhh!-" The tail swished in the air and knocked the assassin away and towards the side. The assassin crashes into several dusty boxes before he slammed into the wall, dust flaring. Cracking and glass shattering noises echoed in the large space before the assassin was buried in rubble and falling debris._

 _With one assassin swiftly dealt with, the tailed figure immediately refocused his attention on the second incoming assassin, who charged at him with daggers raised. The man reached out and grab hold of his wrists, wrestling the attack away._

 _Realising the opportunity in the deadlock, a third assassin appeared behind him, stretching out a silver garrote in his hands. But sensing the danger, the tailed man head-butted the knife wielding assassin and turned around, letting his tail finish him off with a slice to the throat._

 _His intuitions were correct however, as the third assassin hastily wrapped the steely strings around his neck, yanking it outwards so that it constricts the man's throat._

" _Ghaaa-!" The tailed man gasped hoarsely, feeling the tight bounds starting to cut into his neck. With an exert of effort, the man's tail snaked from the side of him and shot up, coiling it's end around the hooded assassin's neck._

 _The two men struggled for dominance as the thunder outside crackled. And before the assassin could pull any further, the red eyed figure's tail squeezed till it buckled against itself, and violently turned to its side._

 _Snap!_

 _The tail snapped the assassin's neck loudly as the man suddenly became motionless, whatever emotion on his face now frozen in time on his dropping head._

" _You're mine!" The voice of a female yelled out from above. But by the time the man had heard it, it was too late._

" _Ugh-!" The tailed man grunted out in acute pain as he felt two arrows lodging themselves into his back, and one piercing the back of his thigh. His pain swiftly transitioned into a fit of rage. Still with his tail firmly tightened around the assassin's body, he spun in a tired stance and swung his tail upwards, aiming towards the old chandelier above._

" _Nggraaaa-!" He yelled as he released relaxed the tail, letting the body fly towards the ceiling._

 _A loud "Boom!" followed by the shattering of metal and glass was heard as the chandelier above fell, its chains gurgling and shearing as they snapped. With a thunderous drop, the chandelier fell to the ground, and with one female assassin along with it. Dust scattered and floors cracked. The vibration from the crash sent chills up everyone's spine._

" _Ugh… fuck…!" The tailed man groaned tiredly as he limped towards the fallen assassin, who's lower body was trapped under the collapsed bronze chandelier._

"… _Uhh…dammit… c'mon…!" The hooded female cursed at herself, desperately trying to push the chandelier off of her, her gaze flickering back and forth between the obstacle and the slowly approaching man._

" _You slaughter my people, my settlement, Then you come after our treasure…" The man growled, his tail plucking the two arrows behind his back, flicking them to the side of the room. "And for what? Huh?! A damned pendant?!"_

" _I heard its worth a lot…ugh!" The woman quipped. But she groaned in sudden pain as the tailed man stepped over the chandelier, pushing down on the assassin's broken body._

" _All of this effort..." The man said, ripping the pendant from the necklace. With a small ringing noise, a pole weapon materialised from his hand, forming a trident of gold. The man struck the butt of the pole down on the floor authoritatively. "…Is this really worth it?" He asked inquisitively._

" _The people who hired us… the other races… they told us… that they're not after the weapon itself… but what it represents." The female assassin groaned._

" _Our species... has faced enough discrimination.._. _" The man said, turning the trident upside down, its three points pointing down towards the assassin._

" _Wh…What are you…" the assassin asked, petrified by the power above her. The tailed man, black haired, red eyes. Who was he?_

" _Devilukean."_

 _Splurt!_

* * *

 ***Present time… Orphanage, Moon Endurance…***

"And with a might stab, the assassin fell limp, she was dead…! And so… from that day on… the tailed chief, who's name was Davo, prevailed from the Wild Hunt, rose up to be the first King of Deviluke! "All hail King Davo of Deviluke!" The people cheered that night. The end." The voice finished the tale, closing the book, and placing it on his lap.

"Whaooo….." The children gasped in awe, their eyes wide as saucers.

Huddled around the small fireplace were a crowd of children, their hands reached out to the fireplace before them. Sitting on a chair next to them was a boy, slightly bigger than the rest of them. He had his head turned facing the fire, reflective in his distinct red eyes.

"Is this story real, Gid-nii? Did the first King Davo actually won against the assassins?"

"I'd like to think so." The boy in the said answered, a long look into the fireplace.

"The first king must've been very strong…" One of the children said.

"He sure was." The narrator replied.

"Read it again, Gid-nii!"

"Yeah, that was awesome, please?" The group of children begged excitedly.

"Well its getting quite late, and isn't it your birthday tomorrow, Gibi?" The young Gid asked the boy.

"Ohh! I almost forgot. Tomorrow I'll be a year older, and catching up to you!" The young child announced proudly, to which all the children laughed at him. "What?" He asked, confused by the laughter.

"You can never catch up to someone's age, that's not how age works dummy!" the girl sitting beside him said, adding fuel to the preverbial fire that is the laughter. The soon to be a year older Gibi shot the girl beside him a quick glare.

"I'm your caretaker now. You know the rules, everybody needs to be in bed by ten-thirty." The boy in the chair said as he sat up. "Everybody better be in bed in the next fifteen minutes or Gid-nii is going to be very crossed." The boy warned.

"Aww man…" The group of children sighed as they got up from the fireplace, each scrambling back to their bunks in different rooms.

Sighing, young Gid remained seated, staring into the fireplace. "Another year… huh…" He muttered to himself.

 **(Music for Mood: Gabriella's video – Logan OST)**

Knock! Knock! knock!

Gid sat up from the chair, alerted by the door knocks. The boy plopped himself off the chair and exited the living room, walking down the corridor and passing by bunk doors. _'Who would come here so late at night?'_

Wordlessly, the black haired child opened the door, and outside was an old man, riding on the hump of what appears to be a bison-looking animal, dragging along a wooden wheel cart behind it.

"Mister Furfur?" Gid asked. "What are you doing here so late at night?" Gid wondered, running towards the old man, his breath visible in the cold air. "The food and everything else can be delivered in the morning, you shouldn't have pushed yourself."

"Dear boy, I'm old, but not _that_ old." The man on the bison got off, limping towards the wooden cart, gesturing Gid to follow. "I'm not here to deliver food this time." And as Gid approached the cart, he soon realised what Mister Furfur was delivering.

A young boy laid in the cart, several fur blankets covering his sleeping form, though he could make out the distinct grey hair that the boy had. A distinct black tail ending in a scorpion styled tip drooping out of the side of the cart. Young Gid and Mister Furfur stood before the cart.

"I found him at my doorstep several hours ago, unconscious. So I decided to take him to the only orphanage on this damned moon."

"Does he have a name?" Gid inquired, curiosity in his eyes.

"Dunno, dunt care. He's been sleeping this whole time." Furfur sighed, suddenly kicking the cart. "Get up boy!" The old man said, his tail curled around the cart's railing, yanking it.

"W-Where am I- WAA!- ooft!" The newly awoken boy asked groggily, and immediately fell off the cart. "Ugh…" He groaned as he landed on the dirt ground.

Gid gave Mister Furfur a strange look as he went over by the boy's side. The old man on the other hand simply climbed on the bison's back, giving its side a small kick. "Hya!"

"Mister Furfur!" Gid called out to the man.

"He's your problem now. Sigh… I'm getting too old for this…" The old man grumbled, tiredly riding his carriage down the dirt road and into the night, the lantern by the bison's side wiggling with every step it took.

"Damned lazy old man…" Gid grumbled. But he then turned his attention to the boy. "Here." He offered a hand, to which the ashen haired boy accepted.

"W-Where am I…?" The blue eyed boy asked, a glint of fright in his eyes.

"You are at the orphanage on Moon Endurance, first moon of Planet Deviluke." The red eyed Devilukean answered, pointing to the night sky. "My name is Gid, what is your name?" The child asked the other.

"It's… it's Za-Zastin." He answered.

"And how old are you, Zastin?" Gid asked.

"I…I'm nine."

"Go figure." Gid commented nonchalantly. He now had a good look at the newly arrived Zastin. Scrawny, but just as tall as him, despite their three-year age gap.

The two of them now found themselves standing awkwardly in an odd place, open and exposed in the cold night. Neither said a thing. "Well Zastin, I guess… welcome to the orphanage. Let's get you settled in first, you're more than welcome to some dinner leftover, m'kay?" Gid said as he lead little Zastin back into the orphanage. "You can sleep in for the night, then tomorrow you can meet the other-" But Gid pulled to a halt, hearing only his voice and footsteps. He paused and turned around, seeing the grey haired boy rooted in his place, looking downwards.

"Will…Will this be my new home now?" Zastin asked.

"Only if you want it to be." Gid smiled warmly. "Com'on, its getting cold."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well as promised, I'm back with another story! A short chapter just to test things out.**

 **In case you haven't noticed. This story will be MY OWN take on the origin stories of Gid, Zastin, Sephie, Black, and Doctor Mikado. The To Love-Ru backstory of the Galactic War has been teased and referenced here and there in the canon. But I will try my best and bring it to life. It is to be noted that this prequel story exists within the Lone Eagle universe.**

 **That being said, NO PREREQUISITE READINGS REQUIRED. Meaning if this is your first time reading my stories, then this is a good place to start!** **But if you'd like, you can also check out my other TLR stories as well :D**

 **On a more personal note- Thank goodness I don't have to write about Rito anymore! Fuahh… This story will be so much more interesting to write, not only because characters actually have a personality (as opposed to Rito…), but also without the harem's existence. A romance story between two people is much more appealing and easier develop than six lmao.**

 **So what did you guys think about this start? What do you want to see? What can be improved?**

 **More chapters still to come!**

 **Reviews are highly appreciated and loved! (Prefer longer ones with more feedback!)**

 **Criticisms are also accepted.**


	2. Caretaker

**Act 1- Chapter 2: Caretaker**

* * *

 _Previously:_

" _Well Zastin, I guess… welcome to the orphanage. Let's get you settled in first, you're more than welcome to some dinner leftover, m'kay?" Gid said as he lead little Zastin back into the orphanage. "You can sleep in for the night, then tomorrow you can meet the other-" But Gid pulled to a halt, hearing only his voice and footsteps. He paused and turned around, seeing the grey haired boy rooted in his place, looking downwards._

" _Will…Will this be my new home now?" Zastin asked._

" _Only if you want it to be." Gid smiled warmly. "Com'on!"_

* * *

 ***The Next morning…***

 **(Within the Embrace – Horizon Zero Dawn OST)**

Two blue eyes blinked into life as young Zastin slowly woke from his sleep. He ran his fingers over the straw bed that he laid on, feeling the comfort that he hasn't felt in a while. He was greeted with the wooden bottom of the bunk bed above. He began to panicked at the unfamiliar sight.

' _Where…- That's right… I'm at the orphanage.'_ The boy calmed as the realisation slowly began to set in. _'This… is my new home now…'_ He thought, not entirely sure what to make of it. Should he feel safe? Should he run away and back to the streets? No. There's nowhere for him to call home but here now.

His contemplation was interrupted when a hot aroma filled his room like the warm summer's breeze, seemingly enchanting him to sit up and follow. The boy got off the bed and timidly walked out of the room, and turned down the hallway. From there, chatter and fidgets of wood and metal only got all the more apparent. And so little Zastin arrived at the dining room.

The Devilukean children gathered around the large wooden table glanced at the newcomer, then began to quietly hush to one another, seemingly surprised and confused by the visitor. They all stopped eating and looked at Zastin.

"…A…" But the pressure was too much for out little Zastin, too many prying eyes, too much attention for a child. His blue eyes soon met a pair of red ones, as sitting right across the table staring at him was one smiling Gid.

"Children, this here is Zastin," The twelve-year-old boy announced. "He had just arrived last night, and will be joining us in the orphanage from now on. Let's all be nice to Zastin here, okay?" Gid then turned his attention to the boy. "Come eat breakfast with us, you must be starving after last night!" Gid offered cheerfully.

"U-Uh... thank you-" Zastin thanked, but was surprised when the loudest gurgle erupted from his stomach, much to everyone's laughter.

"Come! Try the carcass stew that Gid-nii taught me to make!" A boy got out of his chair and took Zastin by the hand, leading him to his own wooden stool next to him.

"I'll pour you a cup of water, just sit there!" A girl from across the table offered, before grabbing a cup and the rusty metal pitcher.

"U-Um…" Little Zastin was speechless. Where was all this hospitality coming from? The children were so nice to him, and he knew not why.

And as the group of children settled down to eat, Zastin stared at the bowl of stew and the cup of water before him, dumbfounded by the hearty meal at the table. He then turned his attention to everyone else around the table. There he saw the children, talking and laughing with one another. And while one was distracted, the other would take a spoonful of the others stew. Gid was smiling and joking with the others beside him.

"Everyone better eat up quickly, because we have things to do today!" Gid announced.

"What are we doing today?" Another child asked, one who could barely contain the excitement in her voice.

"We've ran out of wood for the fireplace, dirty clothes that needs to be washed, and I don't know if you've noticed, but this place still hasn't had a proper mopping ever since the last storm." Gid said.

"Aww maan!" The children groaned in response. Chores again?

"I might be your caretaker, but this orphanage isn't going to run itself!" Gid said with an authoritative voice. "Finish your stew, and if we can get everything done by nightfall, then I might just make my special mud-crab pie for dinner tonight."

"Yaaay!" The children cheered in response, their mood flipping like a switch in response to the prospect of food.

* * *

 ***Half an hour later…***

"We'll be back soon!" The group of children exclaimed, walking out of the orphanage in a single file, then splitting up into smaller groups, before venturing forth into the woods. Some however stayed behind and went to the water well next to the orphanage, buckets and wet towels in their hands.

They were blessed with a sunny day, the land was lush with pink and green trees, as far as the eyes could see. The land was a mixture of calm grass and rugged rocky soils. The singing of birds and the breath of the wild welcoming everyone into its pasture.

"Just you wait! I'm gunna collect more than you!"

"It's on!" Another child replied.

"Stay safe, and DON'T RUN! And remember what I said! Do NOT follow the river downstream, the slopes are as far as you're allowed to go!" Gid reminded, watching the children scuttle away playfully, their black tails wagging. And with that, the boy turned around, and approached the rather shy Zastin.

"Come on Zastin, I'll show you around the place." Gid said, walking towards the woods as Zastin followed after.

He had never seen anything like it. Lush greenery as far as the eyes could see, fauna and flora flourishing. Zastin took the time to breath it in, listening to the steady sounds of water from a stream not far from them, his eyes studying the strange blocky rock pillar formations. He felt calm, one with the plants, one with the wild. The seemingly mystic whispers of wind taking him along with every step. He could feel the warm embrace of the sunlight through the sparse canopies, warming him up gradually.

"So Zastin," Gid said, breaking the rather comfortable silence between them. "Mr. Furfur told me that he found you at his doorstep, you were unconscious, alone."

"Mr. Furfur?" Zastin wondered.

"The old man who carried you here," The boy replied. "He's old and grumpy sure, but he delivers crates of food every week so who are we to complain. And all for free mind you~" Gid added. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself? Only if you're comfortable of course."

' _I…I feel like I can trust him... for some reason.'_ Zastin contemplated on his response. He viewed Gid as a kindred spirit, one that he could connect with."M-My parents and I lived on Moon Obedience… my papa volunteered for the Devilukean army, he said he needed to "fight for our homeworld against outsiders" in the Great War… After that mama and I never saw him again. Then a year after that, she passed away from a terminal illness." Zastin explained as best he could, surprised that even he opened up so much.

"That's… I'm sorry, I'm sure that's hard to talk about." Gid said remorsefully.

"No it's okay now. It's been a long time since. I've been living on the streets." The boy replied rather nonchalantly, stepping over some branches while ducking over some vegetation from above.

"…If it's any consolation, ever child in living in this orphanage is just like you. Orphaned, as a result of the Great War happening right now. Everyone here can relate to you."

"Well then how about you?" Zastin asked innocently, trailing after Gid up a small hill. "Did your parents went and joined the army?"

Gid paused in his footsteps as Zastin walked into the boy. "Ooft!"

"I…I don't know really... I've never met mine." Gid answered, hopping over a small river. "I've lived in this orphanage as far as I can remember… the caretaker of the orphanage was the closest I ever got to a parent." Gid replied.

"And where is the caretaker?" Zastin asked, following Gid as they climbed onto a collapsed log, and up to some rugged rocks. _"Now that I think about it, Gid is taking care of everyone else… and he's only twelve…'_ He wondered.

"The caretaker…" Gid said," The caretaker…she isn't here anymore, disappeared two years ago." The boy turned around and looked at Zastin.

"B-But did she abandoned you? Where could she have gone?" Zastin had so many questions needed answering. But before Gid could reply, they both heard a voice called out to them.

"Gid-nii!" One of the children from the orphanage shouted, running over the two on the log.

"What's wrong?" Gid asked worriedly, seeing the child's face.

"It's Gibi, he's twisted his ankle, and scraped his knee…" the child huffed out, breathless after the run.

"And how did he manage that?" Gid asked knowingly, furrowing his eyebrows coyly.

"We… We were chasing each other…" The girl admitted.

"Sigh… Kids never listen do they…" Gid whispered to Zastin, before hopping down the large log. "Okay, take me to him. Zastin, do you mind staying here for just a moment, I've still got the caves and the sulfur pools to show you."

"A-Ah... ok."

* * *

 **(Music for Mood: Motherless – Horizon Zero Dawn OST)**

Zastin watched on as Gid left with the child, slowly disappearing into another part of the woods.

"Hmmmm…" Zastin hummed nonchalantly as he took a seat on the large fallen piece of log, his feet swinging in the air and his tail relaxing by his side. He looked around curiously as he waited.

A while has passed, and still no Gid. Zastin eventually became quite bored with his surroundings. _'I'm going to go look for Gid.'_ The boy told himself. And as he got off the log, a breeze sailed over his head. The boy looked up, his eyes widened at the sight. A swarm of insects that glow of gold seemingly lit up the sky above him, mystically flowing with the breeze in a stream.

"Woahhh…" he sighed in awe, mesmerised by the stream of light. The breeze carried a breath of warm whisper, as if encouraging him to follow.

And so he did. With his curiosity getting the better of him, he hopped off the log and followed the light through the forest, guided by the soft whispers of the wind. Step by step he took, not even realising the vine before his foot.

"Gaah-!" He tripped, falling and tumbling down a short decline.

"Ahhh…" Zastin stood back up at the bottom of the slopes, rubbing his sore parts. But now out of his hypnotic trance, a foul smelling caught him off guard as he became alerted, his senses returning. It was the when he realised.

He was lost.

"Oh no…" Zastin sweatdropped. "Oh no no no no no…" he repeated to himself, looking around for any signs of the orphanage.

But at the same time, that foul smell lingered in the air before him.

 _'the river… this is downstream…'_ Zastin realised, seeing the moderate river flowing across his path. Curiosity once again got the better of him as he looked down the river, noticing flies gathering further down, as evident by the buzzing in the distance. _'I wonder what's down there…'_

And so he ventured forth, downstream. To where the river eventually pooled into a large dark cavern.

"Where am I…" he wondered in awe and begun his approach to the cavern, when suddenly, he froze.

Right at the mouth of the cavern, flies buzzed around a specific area of the water by the edge of the cave entrance. And lying face down on the rocks.

Was a corpse.

"...when… what…?-" Zastin froze at the sight, his scorpion ended tail cowering between his legs. It was his first time seeing a corpse, and he had so many questions, some needed answering, and a some did not.

The body was grey and dark, parts missing, innards protruding. A foul stench emanating off it, attracting insects. It's foulness stinking the water around it.

"I told you not to go downstream…" A voice said, surprising Zastin to the core. Horridly, Zastin began to turn around, chills down his spine.

"Gid-nii…" The grey haired boy breathed, shocked to see the orphanage caretaker before him. His expression indecipherable. "T-t-t-there's… there's a...a…-"

"There's a corpse behind you, I can see that." the red eyes Devilukean replied calmly.

"You know…" Zastin uttered, his breath quickening. "What...who… who is _that!_ "

" _That,_ my dear Zastin, is the caretaker of the orphanage. Or _was_ at least." God answered the child, stepping beside the boy, looking at that heap of bones and rotten flesh with his hands on his hips.

"B-But… you said she was gone...she disappeared...!" Zastin was shocked. For all intents and purposes, he had truly believed what Gid said was true, that he was trustworthy.

"I did not lie to you if that's what you're thinking about." Gid said. "Did she disappear two years ago, yes. But was it an accident, no."

Zastin didn't know what to think anymore, between the dead body and Gid's calmness, he mind raced with ideas that made him sick to the core, not that he wasn't already sick to the stomach already. "T-Then… don't tell me…. you…"

" **I'm going to read you a story, Zastin."** Gid said. **"One that you cannot find in any storybook. Once upon a time, there was a wicked woman, who reluctantly took in a two-year-old boy into her home ten years ago. For years, she had underfed him, and beat him, scorned him, and treated him like a slave more than a child…"** The trident tailed Devilukean said, his red eyes vengeful looking at the corpse. **"Under normal circumstances, any child under that condition would be broken, or would simply have ran away. And that would've been totally fine with the woman. But the boy didn't run away. Instead, he survived eight more years of the torture."**

"You're talking about you…" Zastin realised. _'Is that why he's a little shorter for his age… the underfeeding?'_ He wondered.

" **The boy had no hope, no ambition, no hope, no dreams. Those that he had were belittled and crushed under the woman's care. Until one day…"**

" **One day… another child was delivered to her doorstep, and then another… till months later, there were seven children living under her roof. And now suddenly, the boy found himself six more friends. Six more to play, and break bread with."**

" **But the wicked woman, she was not content by how happy were. And begun to treat them like how she treated the first boy."**

" **When the boy saw this… something inside him changed. To see the cruel treatment he got not on his friends was perhaps more difficult that what he had been through. The woman even crippled one of the children, permanent damage. And so one day, when the wicked woman took him outside to beat him. The boy gave her a push. And she knocked her head on a boulder on the ground."**

"You… you ki-killed… the caretaker…?"

" **The little boy then carried the body down the river, to never before explored woods, and left her there to rot for all of eternity, to rot for the things she did to those poor, poor children. And from that day onward, he vowed to always take care of those around him, to act, and rise up in the face of tyranny. For the good of others."** Gid finished. **"The end."**

To say that Zastin was shocked was an understatement. Everything coming at him so suddenly and so quickly. The corpse, the murder, the children. A part of him didn't think it were real, that it was just some cruel prank that the children of the orphanage devised. To believe the story would imply that Gid first took a life at the age of ten, and the caretaker's no less. "…" Zastin was stunned.

"So what do you think about the story? Was the boy right in taking the life of that wicked woman, to spare the other children from a life of misery?" Gid asked, now focusing on Zastin. "Was the boy right, or was he actually the wicked one?"

And as Zastin looked at Gid, he saw something new within him, something hidden. The caretaker of the orphanage, the trident tipped Devilukean, the killer, a boy he only met a night ago. He didn't quite know what to make of him anymore. Was he a danger? Were the others safe? Will he kill again?

"I have shared with you my darkest secret. But in return…"

"In return…" Zastin wondered, now slightly afraid.

"In return, you need to keep this between the two of us. The children must certainly never find out about the fate of the caretaker. Promise me… promise that you tell anyone what you've seen, or heard." The twelve-year-old boy pleaded, a somewhat desperate look in his red eyes.

"I…" Zastin began nervously.

"…I promise…"

* * *

 ***Nightfall…***

That night, Zastin twisted and turned in his slumber, unable to get a good night's rest. He felt uneasy, like the woollen blanket and the warm straw bed did nothing to protect him from the cold. Every he closes his eyes, he would see the woman downstream. That horrible horrible image, burned inside his mind forever. Alas he couldn't take it anymore, he got out of his bed and put on his small boots, a fur coat wrapped around his figure, quietly walking out of his room and down the corridor.

"Gid-nii?" He asked, looking for the caretaker in his room. But the empty howls of the wind were the only reply he got. And so he checked the living room, where the fireplace was burning warmly. But Gid was not there either. _'Could he have gone outside?'_ He wondered. And so the boy ventured out of the orphanage cottage, his breath visibly steaming to the cold air. He exited the short wooden fences and looked all around him. To the woods in the front, the hills on the left; the ponds on the right. The nine-year-old boy circled around the back of the cottage, and squinted towards the distance.

To the distance, at the edge of the tall cliff, there sat a small figure. He could just make out the distinct figure under the bright celestial lights from the heavens above. "Gid-nii…?"

* * *

A small Devilukean boy laid at the edge of the cliff, his head relaxing into his arms behind his head. His red eyes reflective of the large planet and moons above. Vibrant colours that grew all the more apparent on everything in the night. His tail swished above him relaxingly, his trident tip swishing around rather playfully.

"Gid-nii…?" A voice called out shyly from his right.

"Zastin?" The boy was surprised to see the grey head next to him. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I...I can't sleep." The blue eyed boy admitted. "The caretaker… her face… she won't leave me alone…"

Gid nodded slightly, letting a sigh escape his mouth. "She never left me alone either." Gid added. Zastin's eyes widened in surprise. "…You'd think that I could convinced myself that it was for the good of the other children. That I can justify for what I have done. But…"

"…" Zastin went up to Gid and sat down next to him silently.

"But… it's hard…" Gid finished, letting his tail droop back to the ground.

"How do you cope with all this?" Zastin asked, hugging his knees whilst looking up at the skies.

"By having hope." Gid replied, his hands now together on his chest.

"Hope?" Zastin asked curiously.

"Look up at the sky Zastin," Gid said, pointing to the largest celestial being, dominating almost a quarter of the sky. "That biggest and brightest one there is Planet Deviluke, orbiting it are the seven moons of Deviluke. Moon Obedience, Ascendance, Observance, Allegiance, Abundance, and Moon Endurance, which is where we are."

"…" Zastin remained silent as he studied the celestial beings, so large in the sky, yet impossibly far away, surrounded by an ocean of stars. He became mesmerised, the beauty of is, the silence. It's hauntingly beautiful in their eyes.

"It's funny… from here it looks like the world is peaceful, that there's no war going on right now; when in fact, Deviluke's moons are the least defended territories." Gid pointed. "The hope - is that one day, I can take the children up to mother Deviluke, to safer territories." Gid professed. "But I've still got a long way to go~"

"I hope… that one day, we can see Planet Deviluke too, just a little bit closer." Zastin agreed, reaching out a hand towards the planet.

And as the two boys mesmerised themselves into the majesty of space, they couldn't help but notice the haze of smoky smell in the air.

Gid gave a few loud sniffs as his face contorted into confusion. "Sniff… you smell that?"

"It smells like… smoke…fire…" Zastin realised. "…!"

The two briefly looked at each other and turned around, eyes widened in realisation. To the distance, a column of smoke climbed up the night, menacingly covering more and more of the woods' canopy. Bright orange hue of light emanating from that area of the woods. A haze of heat brushed over both their shocked faces.

Fire.

At the orphanage.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: ENDING IT WITH A CLIFF HANGER.**

 **OH AND ANOTHER THING, FOR ALL THOSE CONFUSED WITH THE ROMANCE WITHOUT THE SEPHIE TAG, THIS IS A GID X SEPHIE STORY, AS PER THE CANNON. FOR SOME REASON FANFICTION DOESN'T HAVE SEPHIE AS A CHARACTER TAG.**

 **SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS CHAPTER? ANYTHING GOOD, BAD, TO BE IMPROVED? ANYTHING EXPECTED/ING? LEAVES YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE REVIEWS SECTION OR P.M. ME :)**

 **AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHAPTERS STILL TO COME!**

 **REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED, ENCOURAGED AND LOVED! (THOSE CAN REALLY MOTIVATE A WRITER TO KEEP GOING! :P)**

 **CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.**


	3. Legacy (Act 1 end)

**Act 1- Chapter 3: Legacy**

* * *

 _Previously:_

" _It's funny… from here it looks like the world is peaceful, that there's no war going on right now; when in fact, Deviluke's moons are the least defended territories." Gid pointed. "The hope - is that one day, I can take the children up to mother Deviluke, to safer territories." Gid professed. "But I've still got a long way to go~"_

" _I hope… that one day, we can see Planet Deviluke too, just a little bit closer." Zastin agreed, reaching out a hand towards the planet._

 _And as the two boys mesmerised themselves into the majesty of space, they couldn't help but notice the haze of smoky smell in the air._

 _Gid gave a few loud sniffs as his face contorted into confusion. "Sniff… you smell that?"_

" _It smells like… smoke…fire…" Zastin realised. "…!"_

 _The two briefly looked at each other and turned around, eyes widened in realisation. To the distance, a column of smoke climbed up the night, menacingly covering more and more of the woods' canopy. Bright orange hue of light emanating from that area of the woods. A haze of heat brushed over both their shocked faces._

 _Fire._

 _The orphanage._

* * *

 **(Music for mood: Tornado - Man of Steel OST)**

"Fire... Fire at the Orphanage!" Gid realised, immediately standing up, running back towards the forest. "C'mon Zastin! We gotta go!"

"Gid-nii!" Zastin chased after the boy.

"No no no no no no..." Gid muttered, bashing through the dense forestry, not caring about the cuts that he received on his arms and legs from the sharp leaves. And with every step the boys took, they can feel the heat increasing relentlessly. The smell of burnt wood filled the air and their lungs as they ran. But they were also getting closer.

 _'A fire at the orphanage... How is this even possible?!'_ Questions and concerns raced in the boy's mind. Of all the nights, this just so happened to be the night if a fire. _'All the children... They-'_

 **BOOOOOM!  
**  
To the not so far distance, behind the now lesser foliage, an explosion lit up all the skies above them as a column of inferno lit up the skies. The intense heat and shockwave blasted Gid and Zastin back several meters as they fell to the ground.

"Cough cough... No!" Gid and Zastin coughed and wheezed, the black smog was proving to be a hard obstacle to overcome. The twelve year old recovered from the leafy ground and ripped a piece of cloth from his tunic, covering his mouth and nose as he crouched, wading his way forward the rising black smoke. Instinctively, Zastin followed the caretaker's lead.

Within a few moments time, the duo of Devilukean finally emerged from the foliage and into a clearing.

"Oh god no..." Gid breathed in shock, as did Zastin. "Z-Z...Zastin..." He uttered in shock, his red eyes widened.

The wooden house before him was lit ablaze, cloaked by fire, brighter than anything they've ever laid eyes on. The cottage was burning from within, fire pouring out of the now non-existent windows and doorways. Wooden planks and beams beginning to deform and crumble, fallen down.

"Z...Zastin stay here... I'm gonna get them out...!" Gid mumbled, running into the house.

"No! Gid-nii! It's too..." But Zastin's voice trailed off as he realised that his voice fell on deaf's ears. He watched on with dear and worry as the caretaker disappeared courageously into the burning house.

"CHILDREN! CHILDREN!" Gid yelled aloud, swinging the cloth in his hand before him to wade off the fire. As if the temperature could get any hotter, or so he thought. The fire was more intense than anything he had imagined. He could barely keep his eyes open as he frantically peered around the room. Still he struggled his way through the doorways and eventually into the corridor. There was barely anything that wasn't aflame. The clicking and hisses of the fire surrounded him as he inched his way through the corridor.

But as he did, he peered through the first room he passed, his eyes widened as he became sick to the stomach, so much so that he had to force himself to look away, to supress the vomit.

An arm, a leg, burning bodies.

He pushed onto the second room, but he dared not look into any one of them, for all he could hear was the silence, the clicking and hushing of flames. He stared directly ahead with a blank face. Gid froze in the middle of the burning house.

"Gid-nii, watch out!" Zastin's voice yelled out from behind. And soon Gid felt his body dragged backwards as a large wooden beam came crashing down, crushing the floorboard where Gid had stood.

"Z-Zastin…" Gid recognised, his blank expression lingered on his face. Everything happened so fast, so sudden. He couldn't bring himself to find the appropriate reaction. "They… the children… they all…"

"We have to go! This place is collapsing!" The nine year old yelled, pulling the twelve year old by the shoulders.

"B-But… the children… I have t-to save them…" Gid uttered blankly, looking into the fire, and it back.

"Gid…nii!" Zastin struggled as he yanked onto Gid's tail, finally getting his full attention. At the same time, the cracking and sizzling of everything around them filled the room all the louder, shards of wood and dust started to rain on them. The two Devilukean boys looked towards one another. A common understanding between the two grew all the more apparent. They had to leave, and soon. The two picked each other up and brought their cloths to their mouths and nostrils, staying crouched as they made their way out the burning orphanage.

"There's the doorway!" With Zastin in front of Gid, he was able to see the exit first. He took the caretaker by the hand and dragged him forward.

But Gid however, was a moment more perceptive.

Just as they were heading for the doorway. Gid looked up and saw a large supporting beam on top of the burning doorway, making creaking sounds as it threatened to tumble.

Without hesitation, Gid shoved Zastin forward from behind, pushing the child out of the doorway and into the dirt.

"Ooft!-" Zastin gasped as he fell forward into the cool dirt outside. He turned around to face the burning house, his eyes widened in shock. "What- GID!-" But before he could say anymore. A loud 'crack!' followed his wake.

"Auugh-!" The piece of beam cracked from the ceiling and fell onto Gid, who thankfully was just able to catch it with his hands and supported it with his back.

"Ghhhhh…!" Gid had never lifted something so heavy in his entire life. He could feel the bumps of the wooden log dig into his shoulders and back, pressing his entire body downwards.

"Gid-nii!-"

"GO! Get out of here Zastin! GOOO!" Gid struggle to yell in pain. "RUUN!" He screamed, and soon he felt his legs gave way as he dropped to one knee, his arms shaking.

"Gid-nii!... no…" Zastin gasped, scampering clumsily to his footing, but he was too shocked to find his balance.

" **Ggnnnaaarrhhhhh**!" Screamed the twelve year old at the top of his lungs as his strength waned and dwindled. And finally, the boy collapsed to the ground, the log over him came crashing down.

With the collapse of the beam, the burning house crackled and crumbled with a thunderous boom, the walls and ceiling tiles came crushing down. A burst of smoke and dust exploded outwards, blinding Zastin as he covered his face.

* * *

 ***The morning after…***

 **(Music for Mood: Sacrifice – Transformers: The Last Knight OST)**

"Gaaasp…-cough! Cough!..." Amidst the ashy plains, a figure gasped for air for the first time, but profusely coughed up ash straight after. Every part of his body screamed agony as he laid there, on the dry ground. Zastin's blue eyes flickered opened, seeing the smoky sky above him. "Ugh…" He groaned out as he sat up from the soil, dust and debris falling off his figure, dusting out from his shaking head. He looked around him.

There was nothing.

"…" He had no words to describe what he saw, and even less people to tell them to. All around him was ash, a landscape of black grey. The orphanage in front of him stood no more, now reduced to but a pile of burnt wood and a heap of rocky debris. The gardens surrounding the orphanage and the woods behind were now but an empty husk of itself, crispy and fragile to the touch. There was deafening silence, and from the heavens rained ash. Wordlessly, the boy got up to his feet and dragged himself across the ground towards the orphanage.

He soon arrived to where the doorways once was, and saw the wooden log flat atop of the caretaker of the orphanage. "Gid… GID-nii!" He screamed, running to the heap of rubble. He knelt down and furiously clawed away at the rubble, pushing rocks and chunks of wood aside. Alas, the boy dragged the unconscious caretaker by the arms out of the rubble and backwards.

"Gid-nii!" He called out, now examining the boy more carefully. There Gid laid, smoke arising from his body, black soot and small burn marks littered his body, and the ash over his face and arms didn't help either. It had frightened Zastin greatly, seeing the twelve-year-old unresponsive, for he did not know what to do. Naturally, Zastin desperately looked around him for help, but there was no one.

' _What do I do…? Gid-nii…'_ The child thought, now frightened as his breath quickened. He looked at Gid's body, and an image of the corpse by the river flashed in his mind. "Don't go downstream…" He repeated to himself. "Downstream…"

That's when it hit him. _'I have to go downstream...'_ He told himself. It was the only place with ample water and a sufficient shelter., it made sense to him. And so Zastin knelt beside Gid's form, scooping his arms under his knees and back. "Ghyaa…!" He pushed with all his might, but he was too weak, too dehydrated, to even lift the boy off the earth.

"Need… to go… downstream…" Zastin repeated to himself, now instead dragging the boy by the arms, step by step, through the burnt forestry. And as Zastin dragged themselves through the woods, he saw a gathering of prints in the mud, leading further to the left in the distance.

' _Those… hoof prints? Why would there be hoof prints here…?'_ Zastin questioned curiously. But as he refocused his attention on Gid, he knew that the hoof prints meant naught now. And so he continued his journey, pulling Gid step by step through the woods, or what's left of it.

* * *

"We're… Almost… There…!" Zastin grunted to himself, dragging the caretaker and himself through the leafy ground. His tired trail soon ended when he reached the bottom of the decline of a small, hill, where he once tripped and tumbled to his discovery. He released Gid's hands as he stretched and huffed in exhaustion. "Downstream… finally… huff… huff…" He huffed and puffed, having made their day down to the river. And there they were again, the river pooling into a small pond, pooling outside the entrance of the large cavern. He physically shuddered at the chilling water filling up his furry boots.

' _The cave… is it safe?'_ Zastin asked himself, looking at the gaping mouth of the cave, slightly intimidated by its jagged teeth and darkened path. But looking at Gid's condition, the boy breathe and finally mustered what little courage he had. The nine year old took Gid and circled around the pond of water, avoiding the decomposing caretaker on the way. And soon after, he had arrived at the cavern mouth.

"Whao…" Zastin's blue eyes gasped in awe, walking into the darkness. The sunlight from outside shone into the cave, gracing its depths with a glimmer of hope. Knowing he'll venture into the unknown, Zastin decided to set Gid aside onto a smooth facing rock by the entrance's side, sitting the unconscious boy up carefully.

* * *

"H-Hello?!..." Little Zastin's voice echoed through the walls of the cavern, bouncing all over the place, causing Zastin to turn all around as his own voice echoed all around him. He tredded into the dark carefully. And with every step, he could almost hear his own heart beating, his nervous breath sending steam into the chilling air. "Hello?!..." He again shouted. "I-If anyone's there… My friend Gid and I need help!" Zastin pleaded, taking some more nervous paces forward, "We… we have nowhere else to go…"

After a decline walk and squeezing through a tight corridor later, the boy found himself emerging into yet another cavern. But unlike the cave entrance, the walls were smooth and buttery, unnaturally so. The walls of the cavern was covered in mysterious rune symbols, seemingly etched into the rock's surface. In the center of the cavern was a small urn of bronze, purple embroidery etched into the urn's face. A single beam of light shining down at it from a small hole at the cave ceiling. Watching over the urn was a silent guardian, a tall man of stone, standing vigilantly behind the urn, unmovable as a rock. The armored statue posed with his hands together, cupping a mound of dirt, a small leafy plant sprouting in his hands. A steady rhythm of water trickled down from the above.

"HELLO?!..."

 **Hmmmmmmm…**

"W-Who's there?!" Zastin shrieked, looking around the space. Panicking, the boy looked down and picked up a tree branch, holding it with both hands in front of him. He jolted in surprise as the runes on the walls surrounding him began to glow a faint gold.

" **Approah… Child of Deviluke…** " The deep voice reverberated through Zastin's brain. There was a sense of power and authority in the tone, but oddly gentle enough to command Zastin into following its demands as he walked towards the centre, his tail tucked between his legs. The boy gripped the branch between his hands all the more tighter.

" **Behind you.** " The voice called out behind him. But it was too late already as Zastin blindly turned around, swinging the log with all his might. To his surprise, the branch sailed through whatever was in front of him, flying out of his hand and into the darkness of the room.

"Gahh!-Ooft!" Gid yelled as he swing, lost his footing and fell on his bottom.

"… **Are you alright, child?** "

"Oww…" Zastin groaned out, rubbing his head. It was then when he saw it.

The figure in front of him.

Standing tall, the spectral figure had faint black hair, blood red eyes, and a tail ending in a trident tip. He wore garbs of black and purple.

"Who… Who are you mister…?" Zastin breathed, finding what he is witnessing hard to believe. "A-Are you a g…ghost…?"

" **It'd be rude not to introduce one's self first, especially when one waltzes into my burial chambers after six hundred years.** " The ghost replied, critically eyeing the boy, analysing his every move with curiosity.

"I… My name is Zastin. The orphanage I lived in close by was just burnt to the ground… we have nowhere else to go…" Zastin poured out, now thinking about Gid. "M-My friend! Gid! He's hurt really bad!"

" **I see… and where is this Gid friend of yours?** " The ghost asked, looking around the chamber.

"A-At the mouth of the cave."

" **Well then, perhaps I can help, Child of Deviluke. Bring him to me.** "

"T-Thank you, stranger!" Zastin thanked profusely, picking himself up as he ran to retrieve Gid. The ghost watched as Zastin exited the cave, a slightly bewildered expression on his face.

* * *

 **(Music for Mood: Merlin's Staff – Transformers The Last Knight OST)**

 ***Later on…***

"Huff… huff… gahh…" With a hefty sigh, Zastin propped Gid's body on the cold cave floor. He stood up tiredly and stretched his back.

" **This is your friend Gid I presume?** " The ghost asked, causing Zastin to jump in surprise.

"Gah!- Ah, y-yes mister..." Zastin replied, watching as the ghost silently made his way to the boy. "Mister…" he trailed off, "W-What is your name, mister?"

" **Davo, Davo Lucione.** " The ghost answered.

"D-Davo… Lucione…?" Zastin repeated to himself. _'Why does that name sound so familiar…-?!'_

But then it hit him.

"D-Davo Lucione… it couldn't be…" The nine year old boy breathed. "A-As in… the FIRST KING OF DEVILUKE?!" He exploded in shock, blue eyes wide as saucers. "B-But… how…"

" **The one and only.** " The ghost pointed. " **You know, I don't see the confusion. Last time I checked, this IS Moon Endurance, Deviluke's original settlement, and we are in my burial chambers after all.** "

"I… what…?!" The boy was too shocked to even respond.

" **Be calm, Zastin of Deviluke.** " The ghost of the king commanded.

"Gid-nii… read stories about you… at the orphanage…" Zastin said to the spectral being. "H-How are you still _here_?"

" **Well… death certainly has always eluded my understanding… I don't know. I'd like to think that even when my body fails me, death has not the courage to take my soul yet.** " He chuckled to himself. " **But it's been six hundred years since I've met anyone…** "

"The stories Gid-nii read about you… are they true?" The child asked.

" **Which stories?** " The ghost raised an eyebrow.

"The one where you defeat five assassins to protect Deviluke's crown. Was that true!?"

"… **In part, yes."** The king replied. " **But I'm afraid that's not the full story."**

"T-Then… what was the full story?" Zastin asked.

"…" The dead king gave a long look at young Devilukean, one that slightly intimidated the boy. " **Yes there were five assassins that I defeated. Yes they came after Deviluke's treasure. But no, Deviluke's treasure was not it's king piece or even its crown for that matter.** "

"T-Then… what was it?" Zastin asked curiously, seeing the ghost held up a hand, palm facing up.

" **It's was an artifact of profound power and knowledge, what we refer to as an 'Apple of EDEN'.** " King Davo proclaimed, and a holographic impression of an orb materialised in his open hand. The orb was metallic and glassy in its shine, mysterious runes etched into its spherical surface, which gleamed with an aura of serenity. The etchings on shone out rays of golden light, illuminating the entire cavern almost blindingly. " **It was said to be a gift from our Heavenly Father himself.** "

"This…" The child had never seen something so pure, so divine in his life. The warm light it emanated seemingly drawing the boy in closer, tempting him forward. And soon he found himself reaching a hand for the Apple.

Until suddenly, it vanished with a brilliant burst of light. Gone was the Apple of EDEN, disappearing from the ghost's hand. " **Armoured by the forbidden knowledge of the Apple of EDEN, The Devilukean Empire quickly expanded into an interplanetary race.** " The king explained. " **But it is a fickle thing. It tempts and corrupts the hearts of men. Only the strongest were able to truly wield it without being seduced into corruption, which was why it has been, and always will be, a sacred secret.** "

"So if the five assassins never got their hands on this artefact, then where is it now?" The scorpion tailed child asked his elder.

" **Before death came upon me, I sent the Apple far far away from any prying hands. Far away from any advanced races, to the furthest reaches of the Milky Way, where none shall use it for evil.** " The king said, putting his hand down. " **I have sent it off I know not where.** "

"A-Amazing…" Zastin sighed.

" **But that hardly matters anymore, wasn't your friend about to die?** " The King reminded, looking over to the body on the cold floor.

"Oh sh- you're right!" Zastin cursed himself, looking over Gid, gesturing the ghost to come. "Th-This is the caretaker of the orphanage that we came from, his name is Gid sir."

" **Gid…** " The king repeated his name, looking over the boy. The ghost stayed that way for a while.

The silence was palpable; Zastin didn't know how to react. The ghost was merely looking over the boy, tilting his head once a while.

" **Tell me, Zastin.** " The king said, never once leaving his red gaze on the boy. " **Can you see any similarities between the two of us?** " He asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Um… you and Gid-nii…?" Zastin wondered, his blue eyes flickering back and forth between the Devilukeans. But then it clicked. "Red eyes… black hair…"

"…And a trident tipped tail…"

" **Genetics is an interesting phenomenon in life, in retrospect.** " The king elaborated. " **Evolution has taught our bodies to pass on not only the genes that are critical to our survival, but also some aesthetic physical traits as well. For Devilukeans, the tail end is hereditary from father to son.** " The ghost pointed out, and form his form, his tail revealed itself.

' _Both their tails… end with a trident…'_ Zastin realised. _'But what does that mean…?'_

" **And what do you make of that?** " The ghost of King Davo asked.

"It couldn't be…" Zastin uttered. His eyes did not deceive him however. There was no mistaking it. The resemblance was striking, almost uncanny. Those piercing red eyes; those spiky black hair on their heads- and most distinct of all, the trident tipped tail that they both possessed was almost identical in all but length. _'King Davo… and Gid-nii…'_

"…Are related…?" The boy finished his thought in shock, zoning in on Gid's face.

" **It would seem that fate has bestowed on us a cruel and twisted turn.** " King Davo sighed. " **IF… this orphan Gid, truly is my last descendant. Then either Deviluke has fallen, or the has entered great peril.** "

"Please sire… Gid is badly wounded. And the war… we have nowhere else… please help him!" Zastin begged.

"… **Very well.** " The ghost said, pointing at his urn at the center of the cavern. " **Open my urn, and in my urn, retrieve the pendant bearing the mark of the trident.** " The ghost instructed.

And wordlessly, the child obeyed, unsealing the bronze urn, a small puff of ash rose from the process, causing Zastin to cough. And true to the king's words, in it was a pendant of gold, the shape of a trident, decorated with plates of black crystals and gold. "Is this the Devilukean king piece…?" Zastin asked.

" **Yes child, whomever bears the mark of the trident is recognised as the** _ **true**_ **heir to the throne. Now place it around his neck and repeat my words.** " The ghost said, hovering over Gid's body. And so Zastin did as instructed, hanging the pendant around the boy's neck.

" **Good, now repeat after me.** "

" **I, Davo Lucione of house Deviluke, King of Deviluke, first of my name. Hereby bestow this Devilukean king piece, to the true heir to the Devilukean throne, Gid Lucione of House Deviluke, first of his name.** " The king announced, and Zastin repeated.

Then, a soft hue of light emanated from the trident pendant. The same light emanated from the ghost.

" **The pendant will use the remaining piece of my soul to heal the injured Gid sustained. I don't have much time left…** " The king said, looking at his translucent hands. " **Zastin.** "

"H-Hai?"

" **During my reign as king, I had a friend- named Veloth. who stood my side as my Sentinel, my sword; and helped me grow the settlement into Deviluke you know today. He was like a brother to me. That's him there, the statue behind my urn.** " Davo said, pointing to the great stone statue of the knight. " **Even in death… great Veloth still watches over me.** "

"…" Zastin simply gawked at the intimidating statue.

" **Take the plant from the statue's hands.** " Davo said.

"…A plant?" Zastin's brows furrowed in slight confusion, but he complied nonetheless, approaching the giant statue. Standing on his tippy-toes, Zastin scooped the dirt and the plant from the statue's hands.

" **Now kneel, Zastin.** " The king instructed seriously, hovering before the kneeling boy. " **Do you, Zastin of Deviluke, do solemnly swear, to bear the burden as the First Sword of Deviluke, and pledge your allegiance to Gid Lucione Deviluke, the rightful heir of Deviluke? To support him always, to do anything and be anything you need be to him, until your dying breath, and beyond?** " King Davo asked.

"…" Zastin gave the unconscious Gid a look, before looking back at the king. "…Yes…"

" **Good.** " Davo announced loudly, " **Now receive the roots of Knight Veloth, and be recognised!** "

"Wha- UGH-!" Without warning, a wave of heat came over the kneeling boy, with it being most intense from the plant in his hands. The green sapling glowed slightly its glowing roots seemingly dug into Zastin's veins. Through his forearms, then up to his shoulder, up his trachea, his cheek, and finally ending in his right eye – the brown glowing veins lit up and pulsated as it coursed through his body, lighting up the inside slightly through the skin. His entire body became rigid as his head tilted up to the ceiling, screaming in agony. But the nine-year-old endured the pain for a few moments, before the light from the sapling died down.

"AHHHH!- ugh…hah…" Zastin lurched forward, gasping for the comfort after the ordeal, but he never once let go of the plant in his hands. "Wh… What was that…?" He gasped, opening his eyes for the first time, although something felt different.

" **The sword of Veloth is not rooted within you, and you must take care of it. It is a weapon, forged during a time older than metal.** " The king explained, until his image began to flicker. " **I do not have much time left in this world, listen to me now, dear Zastin…** "

* * *

 **(Music for Mood: Sacrifice – Transformers The Last Knight OST)**

" **For centuries I've asked myself, why I still remain after death. And now centuries of pondering and observation have now fallen down to this very moment. Maybe this is what I'm meant to do, at the twilight of my soul's days on this plane. When the Apple of EDEN first revealed itself to me during the great migration, it showed me a vision. A vision… of a great man, with hair of black, eyes of crimson and a tail of trident, standing on top of the world. Heh… I have lived my life… believing that, that man was I. But… looking down at his face, I can see now that I was wrong. The man in the vision was not me. No… It is Gid, my last descendant. It is** _ **he**_ **who will bring upon an age of peace that I never could. It is he who will stand atop of the world- it is HE, who unite this very** _ **galaxy.**_ "

" **Zastin…** "

"S-Sire...!" Zastin asked with searching eyes, the ghost of the Devilukean dimming.

" **Promise me you'll protect him, guide him. Guide him to what he must become. But you must ensure that he never finds out about this. Any of this.** "

"W-Why?" The little boy asked.

" **Once your fate is revealed, your will act differently in knowledge of that said fate and thus alter the course of your future entirely. Please, promise me that he must never uncover any of this. But guide him.** "

"I… I promise." Zastin finished determinedly.

" **Thank you…** " With his very last breath, King Davo Lucione thanked the child, before his ghostly figure disintegrated into particles of light, rising into nothingness.

"…" There was absolute silence, so much had transpired, so much has been said. The nine-year-old Devilukean remained knelt on the ground, his eyes followed the fading ghost to the ceilings above.

"Gaaaahhh-! Huhh! Haahh!-" A hoarse voice beside Zastin gasped.

"GID-nii!" The boy called out, tending to the wounded child. "Are you alright?"

"Wh…Where are we…?" Gid sat up, black soot and dirt shaking off his face and figure as he moved for the first time. And as he did he felt an unfamiliar coldness tickling his sternum. He looked down and saw the trident shaped pendant hanging from his neck. "What is _this_?"

"Y-Your wounds… they're gone…" The Zastin responded, amazed as he look at him all over. "Last night… the orphanage caught on fire… we are the only ones who survived… I dragged you down to the cave by the river downstream. It was the only place I could…" But his voice trailed off as he studied the older boy's reaction to the news.

"N…No… that can't be…" Gid gulped, his crimson eyes blinking in shock. "T-The… the children… they might still be- I need to-"

"-Please Gid-nii. Don't…" Zastin urged, looking at the boy. "You don't want to see it."

"…" Gid huffed out tiredly, lying back on the cold cavern ground. Seemingly relaxed with quivering breath.

…

"GNAAAAAHHHHHH!" Gid suddenly screamed out loud, his pained yell echoed through the cave as he writhed on the ground frustratingly. "AGH!" He grunted, an arm over his sobbing face.

"G…Gid-nii…" Zastin quivered.

* * *

 ***A while later…***

The two Devilukean children sat at the mouth of the cave, downcasted in their expressions. A heavy silence hung in the air as the two listened to the sounds of water crashing, flowing. Small rays of sunshine eventually filtered through the clouds, bursting forth.

"…"

"…"

"Your eyes." Gid noticed quietly. "They're different."

"Huh?" Zastin asked.

"You right eye, it's grey."

"W-What?" The scorpion tailed child said, squatting down at a puddle on the cave ground. And there he saw it. What used to be both his blue eyes now ceased to exist, with one now being blue and the other a dark grey. _'Is this… after the blessing of Veloth…'_ Zastin thought, looking at the green sapling now safely in one of his boot beside him.

"None of those children will ever get to see planet Deviluke." Gid asked himself, looking to the distant river. "This is all my fault..." His eyes empty and lost, looking at his distorted reflection in the water before him. "I should have stayed with them..."

"How can you blame yourself?" Zastin asked. "Would it have been any different if we had stayed in the orphanage?"

"...Perhaps." Gid replied. "And maybe I would've died burning alongside children as well."

"…" Zastin swallowed a nervous gulp, considering all that he had heard from the first king. _'_ _ **Guide him to his fate…**_ _'_ The voice of King Davo reminded him.

"The great war… this must've been an attack by the enemies of Deviluke."

"What are you talking about?" Gid muttered.

"Um… you know, when I picked you up at the orphanage… I saw hoofprints."

"Hoof prints? What hoof prints?" Gid asked, head snapping to Zastin.

"I saw hoof prints… gathering outside the gates of the orphanage…" Zastin said. "It could've been attacked."

"But who would burn an orphanage to the ground…?" Zastin asked aloud, when suddenly, his eyes widened in realisation. _'The war… enemies… of course!'_ The boy made the connections in his head.

"The great war… this could've been an enemy attack." The nine-year-old child added convincingly. "We need to do something." He stated, more determinedly at Gid, who looked at the heterochromic boy with interest.

"Where is all this coming from, Zastin?" Gid asked suspiciously.

"N-Nowhere! I just… I guess I just blame the war for all this…" Zastin replied honestly, saddened.

"... Then we will stop it."

"Eh?" The grey haired child turned to him. "Stop what?"

"The war! We'll find a way to stop it." The red eyed child suddenly said, leaping from his seat and stood atop of the boulder. "We'll travel to Plant Deviluke, and make the war stop!" He said with a childlike determination.

"B-But we are children, we're powerless. Besides, isn't that what our king is supposed to do now?-"

"-Then I will become king!" Gid interrupted. "I will become king and grow strong enough to end this war!" Gid exclaimed, crimson eyes eyeing the skies.

Zastin looked up to the trident tailed Devil in an awe inspired fashion, a hidden smile of success lingering behind his face.

"Sounds like a plan." The children smiled.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: BEEN A WHILE, BUT I FINALLY COMPLETED THE THIRD CHAPTER.**

 **THIS CHAPTER DENOTES THE END OF THE FIRST ARC. THE COMING OF AGE ARC BEGINS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

 **LORE FACT #1: THE APPLE OF EDEN SENT AWAY EVENTUALLY ARRIVED ON EARTH.**

 **BUT WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT THIS CHAPTER? HOPE I DIDN'T DISAPPOINT :P**

 **AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHAPTERS STILL TO COME!**

 **REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND LOVED!**

 **CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.**


	4. Act 2 - Passage of Time

**Act 2- Chapter 4: Passage of Time**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _"The war! We'll find a way to stop it." Gid suddenly said, leaping from his seat and stood atop of the boulder. "We'll travel to Plant Deviluke, and make the war stop!" He said with a childlike determination._

 _"B-But we are children, we're powerless. Besides, isn't that what our king is supposed to do now? -"_

 _"-Then I will become king!" Gid interrupted. "I will become king and grow strong enough to end this war!" Gid exclaimed, crimson eyes eyeing the skies._

 _Zastin looked up to the trident tailed Devil in an awe inspired fashion, a hidden smile of success lingering behind his face._

 _"Sounds like a plan." The children smiled._

* * *

 ***4 YEARS LATER… Moon Endurance… Trading outpost…***

 **(Music for Mood: Houjou no Onna Shujintei – DanMachi OST)**

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!" The people cheered, stomping and clapping. Inside the wooden tavern in the heat of the night, two Devilukeans stood atop of wooden tables, each clasping onto a small wooden keg, pouring down everything into their mouths.

"Gulp gulp gulp…" One of the people tilted his head higher and higher.

"One hundred gold on the shorty!"

"Chug like it's your job!" The people around the boy laughed and cheered. And as the boy's head tilted, his wooden keg became emptier and emptier, purple wine leaking from the side of his mouth...

But suddenly, the keg left the boy's mouth.

"Ryheaaaaaa!" The boy cheered, tossing the small barrel behind him. The others around him exploded and clapped, toasting their glasses and bottles in the air.

"woooohoooo!" The Devilukean screamed atop his lungs, wiping his mouth with the collar of his tunic. He turned to the table adjoining his, to the other boy who he had just beaten. "You... Had a gooood runn..." Gid slurred out, pointing and stumbling at the same time. "But the trick is to... you've gotta stop forcing it down... BE the wine... AY-hic!?" He said as he neared the edge, where he tumbled into the timbered floor with a bang.

The jovial tavern music halted at this point, as did the crowd's cheers. Everyone looked down at the boy who fell in silent suspense.

"Shots..." The boy stumbled and writhed back into his feet, pulling and pushing off people around him.

"SHOTS FOR ALL!"

"HOOORAAAAA!" the crowd stomped and clapped, making their way to the bar. The crowd shuffles amongst each other, patting Gid on the back as they approached the bartender, who merely deadpanned at the many tavern-goers he's about to serve.

"Gid-nii!" A voice called out, from behind him.

"Zas... I can hear you... But I can't see you...? Hic*" In response, Gid turned around, drunkenly looking around. When suddenly, he felt two hands firmly on his shoulders.

"I'm right here." Zastin reassured with a sweatdrop.

"Oh, there you are! ~" The Devilukean finally recognised. "Since when were you so tall..." The black-haired boy tilted his head sideways, squinting his eyes.

"Are you drunk?!" Zastin asked incredulously.

"I'm in a goddamn tavern Zas hic*... what do you think...hic*," the trident tailed man said. "My face feels funny... Can I feel your face? Hic*"

"You're drunk." Zastin deadpanned with a sigh, looking around the rousy inn. "Why are you wasted? You're supposed to have a shift tonight!"

"Whattt shift?" Gid slurred out.

"The bartending shift!" Zastin explained, looking around the tavern oddly. "You're supposed to be bartending tonight, along with the innkeeper!"

"Slow down and form a line please! Your drinks will be ready soon!- sir that isn't for you!- no- wait- that one is! Wait come back! Ahh... -" the inkeeper fumbled around the place, trying his best to keep order amongst the half drunk crowd.

"Why is everyone at the bar?" Zastin asked, curiously eyeing the mob of people.

"Cause I bought everyone a round…HIC!~" Gid answered in an overly calmed manner.

"You WHAT?!" The younger of the Devilukean exploded. "The one night where I go out, you spend-"

"Gid! Get your ass behind this counter RIGHT NOW and start mixing drinks or I'll fire you myself!" The two heard a hysterical voice yell behind the mob by the bar.

"This can't be happening…" Zastin mumbled, looking down with a sweatdrop by his face. "Okay, Let's get you into a bed so you can rest up…" Zastin said, putting Gid over his shoulder as he carried him to the side of the inn, where a corridor of rooms resided. Three Devilukean barmaids soon approached Zastin.

"Don't worry Zastin, we'll take Gid and put him in a bed. You can go take his shift." The barmaids offered with a smile.

"Good idea." Zastin said, passing the dosing off Gid along to the three girls.

"GID! GET YOUR ASS HERE NOW! WE'RE SLAMMED!" Zastin jumped at the inkeeper's angry voice.

"C-COMING!" Zastin replied as he turned around and took off. He couldn't help but hear the giggles of the three barmaids behind him, but he paid it no heed as he ran for the bar.

* * *

 ***The morning after…***

"Ugh… Mmmmm…" A pair of tired eyes opened, one blue, and the other grey. Zastin covered his eyes from the sunlight glaring through the windows. He sat up from the bar stool and looked around.

"it's morning already..." Zastin groaned, his eyes comically sagged as he scratched the back of his head. There still sound asleep on the stool next to him was the inkeeper. Zastins's widened as he recounted the events of the night before.

"Shit..." He breathed as he turned around. His jaw damn near dropped on the floor, appalled by the state of the empty tavern. Tables turned and chairs fallen. Empty hugs and beer bottles still on the tables that managed to stay upright. Drink were spilt and over the place. _'If I stay here the inkeeper WILL beat me senseless.'_ He told himself as he got off the stool quietly. Sneaking to the side corridor. _'Gotta find Gid-nii.'_

The thirteen year old crept his way down the wooden corridor. He soon reached the end of the corridor to the last room.

He was about knock on the door when he froze. Hearing sounds emanating from the room.

"Ugh..."

"Just like that..."

"Does that feel good?~"

"Keep doing that...Ohh yeaaa that's it...~"

"Wh...what..." Zastin stuttered. He clenched the doorknob and barged opened the door. "Gid! What is going o- whaaa..."

This was followed by the collective shrieks of three women.

Zastin couldn't believe what he saw.

Gid. Three girls. naked. On the bed.

"Ah. Ohayo Zas." The rather exposed Gid greeted with a small wave.

"..." Zastins's head almost exploded from the blush as he snap turned around. "Ladies! O-Out please!" Zastin yelled.

"Let's go...~" the three girls whispered and giggled amongst themselves as they left the room, wrapping themselves up with a white towel.

"I'll see you tonight ladies!" Gid called out from the bed, winking at the door.

Zastin shut the door behind him as soon as the girls left. "Gid-nii! What the... What the fuck is going on?!"

"Ahaha... Funny story...~" The shorter of the Devilukean laughed nervously. "I was drunk as a skunk last night right. When suddenly- Three barmaids magically appeared and came up to me… carried me to my room. I thought I was seeing doubles but there were actually three of them. You know how I found out? Because the next thing I knew, we were having a foursome. A foursome Zastin! Three girls, at once! With me! Could you believe it? And that thing she did with her tail, oh my-"

"That's enough!" Zastin interrupted rudely, throwing some clothes at Gid. "Just... Put your cock away and some clothes on please!" He said with his eyes closed.

"And the best thing was…they didn't even accept my coins!" Gid muffled out from the garbs that he was getting into.

"Really?-" Zastin asked, genuinely amazed by the prospect, before snapping back to reality. "-That changes nothing."

"What I have can't be taught." Gid concluded slyly.

"Gid-nii!" Zastin said seriously, picking up a large bag and an ordinary sword from the corner of the room. "We'd best head out while the day's still young. We have things to do."

"The innkeeper was kind enough to rent us this room practically for free for four years now. You can't keep pissing him off."

"Why so serious all the time? What happened to being thirteen years old instead of thirty." Gid teased as he got up, slipping his final garments out.

"Well one of us has to be mature." Zastin sighed. "Let's go…"

* * *

"I still don't get why you're extra prickly today…" Gid mumbled, pushing the door of the inn open as they stepped outside. The air was fresh and the sky was blue, a rarity in those times.

"You missed your shift, bought everyone a round of drinks and promptly had a foursome while I cleaned up after you!" Zastin cried out hysterically. "Does this remind you of any time?"

"Only every once a while." "What's the big deal?"

"We're saving up to buy our own spaceship remember?" Zastin reminded. "We can't very well save up you keep spending all out coins on drink and sex can we?"

"Where are we going anyway?"

"We need to check the traps and lures outside town as well as hunt while the day is young. And while we're at it, maybe get some training down too." Zastin said, walking around the block of the inn, until they reached the side, where a lush and colourful garden resided. "But first…"

"You _cockblocked_ me this morning to go _gardening_?" Gid asked exasperatedly, a question mark hovering over his head.

"My sword needs its daily sun and water." Zastin said, fumbling around the patch of garden, where he found an unusually shiny green sapling. Zastin uprooted the sapling, but what came buried in the earth below were no roots. It was a sword, Green and grey in its metallic shine. The thirteen year old examined the plant closely.

"How did some plant you found in some cave on this moon grow into a sword?" Gid asked with eyebrows raised. Sure he'd seen it sprout from sapling to shiv; and from shiv to knife. But to see it developing into a sword has left him with more questions than answers.

"This is the Morningstar." Zastin said, tenderly looking at the sword as it pulsated green in his hands. "It's connected to me, and stays with me like a blessing."

"You named your sword…" Gid deadpanned. "I've _really_ got to set you up with a girl Zas~" Gid said as he bursted into laughter. Gid teased. "…If I didn't know any better I'd say you're dating your sword~"

"Am not!" Zastin responded.

"Hahahahaha~ If you say so~" Gid joked as he walked away from the gardens. "C'mon, lets check those traps you were talking about."

"Right." Zastin said, hauling the sword over his shoulder, and handed his large sack of supplies to Gid.

The small trading hub on Deviluke's Moon Endurance was a modest town. Advanced, but primitive at the same time. With the advancement of technology and space travel, there comes a certain amount of improved quality of life, yet at the base of it all is mother nature, and all she has to offer. The town stood at the bottom of several hills and short cliffs.

"Sigh…" Gid yawned, now following Zastin down a road of dust and dirt, leading outside the trading outpost. On their way, they passed many an inhabitants, each tending to their own businesses.

"Zas, look." Gid pointed with his head movement, to the two patrolling guards walking past them down the road, rifles in their hands. Their black and purple flowing behind them.

"Patrol guards. Devilukean colours." Zastin identified.

"That's right." Gid said, "If Deviluke increased patrol on this moon, then they've sure done the same everywhere else. Courtesy of the galactic war." He sighed.

* * *

 ***Midday… Woods on the outskirt of trading outpost…***

"God must've been merciful on us today." Zastin said, dragging a large elk-like creature with a rope tied around his body. Strapped all over the boy's brown tunic were pelts and bodies of small animals.

"Don't know about God… but we've certainly hunted more game in one day than we have in the past week." Gid agreed, dumping four leopard-like creatures on the ground from his shoulders. "But I'm not about to complain." He said offhandedly. "Right, you start skinning the game while I set up the tanning rack."

"Why do I always have to skin the animals?" Zastin huffed in frustration.

"Because you're a kid and I'm older than you, so go do as I say~" Gid replied smugly, reaching within the large sack of supplies that he carried uphill.

"We're both kids!" the thirteen year old retorted.

"True. Except _this_ one's had a foursome with three beautiful barmaids~" Gid teased.

"Gahh!" Zastin muttered. "Pervert…"

* * *

 ***A while later…***

Past midday, the tailed duo had finished skinning and quartering their game. Still in the ashy woods, they remained like they always did.

"Right…" Gid said, putting the bloodied knife down. "The trading center doesn't close 'till nightfall, which means we have about five hours of free time."

"You're just itching to train aren't you." The grey haired boy smirked, taking his baggy brown tunic off, revealing the muscular build he had underneath. He walked over to the supplies and picked up two swords, one ordinary and stale in its looks, and the other grey and green.

"You cockblocked me this morning, I'm not about to let you off without a beating~" Gid warned whilst walking to a small grassy space in the woods, ripping his black tunic off, adjusting the purple sash around his waist. From his pant pocket he took out white stripped cloth, and wrapped them around his hands and forearms.

"We'll see." Zastin replied, his scorpion-like tail coiling around a sword's hilt, flinging it to Gid, which he caught.

But soon Zastin noticed several red and purple bite marks along Gid's neckline and chest. "What's all those marks on you?" The thirteen-year-old asked.

"Hickeys." The elder of the two replied. "Those barmaids bite-"

"That's enough talking-" Zastin interrupted with a small blush, warming with one hand sword flourishes, switching hands and wrapping over his shoulders and head. Finally pointing the Morningstar at Gid.

"Humph- show off." Gid muttered and smirked.

The two brothers circled each other. The trident tailed one held his aged silver sword, and Zastin his green energetic one. Slow and cautious the two took, seemingly mirroring each other, switching their sword guard whenever necessary.

"You're moving well." The heterochronic one complemented, shifting his low guard to a side guard.

"Don't get cocky-!" Gid said, lunging forward with several swings. Zastin took several steps back, responding with soft parries, merely redirecting the blade.

"Here I come-!" The heterochromic boy retorted, parrying the last strike with a bit more force, completely knocking the sixteen-year-old off balance. Zastin stepped in with a kick to the back of Gid's knee.

As Gid recovered, his eyes widened as he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the cleave for his head.

"You're improving." Zastin pointed.

"Easy for you to say. You've got your Morningstar helping you." Gid commented, once again advancing with his blade, hacking and hammering.

"Not true." Zastin defended. "My bond with my sword has made me more sensitive and attuned to pressure. But it doesn't teach me how to fight." Zastin reinforced, his blade outstretched to meet Gid's. The two pushed their blades together in a lock.

Gid pushed and struggled against Zastins's sword, trying to brute force his way through his defences. But the scorpion tailed child was too aware, too sensitive. The blades in contact made shearing rings as they slid and guided each other, not once coming off contact. But finally, Zastin capitalized on Gid's momentum forward. With a swift sidestep and pivot to the side, Zastin retreated into a low stance. He reached his left hand out and grabbed Gid's wrist, pushing it downwards. Allowing Zastin's to push his sword forward in a high guard to Gid's face.

' _All in one move-!'_ Gid thought in surprise, looking at the pointy end of the sword that was inches away from his face.

"Once again I-"

"-I'm not done yet!" Gid interrupted, sneaking a stamp kick to Zastin's closest knee. He then swung his tail, whipping the trident tip on Zastin's sword away from his face. In response Zastin twisted Gid's hand outwards, forcing him to drop his sword as the two parted.

With his sword away from him, Gid stood empty handed, white bandages around clenched in fists. He lowered into a slight horse stance, right fist cocked by his hip, left hand outstretched, taunting the thirteen year old to advance. With a serious expression, Zastin advanced on the unarmed boy. He knew better than to underestimate Gid.

Gid stepped back and dodged, for a few moments avoiding the sword swings. But then, against an downward swing of Zastin's sword, the black haired Devilukean dropped and turned around, swinging his tail up to meet the blade. The prongs of the seemingly metallic trident tip clashed with the blade in a spark.

But amidst the surprise, it was too late. As Gid counterattacked by throwing some dirt into Zastin's face.

"Wh-!" The boy gasped. In seconds, Zastin was blinded. The dirt irritated his eyes as he staggered backwards. And with a final spin, Gid performed a low leg sweep, tripping the thirteen-year-old off balance and flat on his back.

"What the hell-" Zastin complained, starting to get up. But just as he raised his head up, he felt three particular cold sensations across his neck. His eyes widened as he saw Gid's trident tail, the three prongs pressing against the boy's neck.

"Yield." Gid told him, pushing his tail menacing forward ever so slightly.

"I…-I yield…" The younger of the two sighed, lying on the ground. Defeated.

"That's the right idea~" Gid smiled, helping the boy up with a helping hand.

"You cheated!" Zastin whined. "You threw dirt in my eyes!" He went on.

"And now you've lost." Gid replied half-heartedly, putting his black sleeveless tunic back on. "But still, how is it that you can disarm me with ease, but lose against an opponent without a weapon?" Gid muttered incredulously.

"You didn't fight with honour." Zastin complained.

"And you didn't win the fight." Gid snickered. "Why fight with honour when you can fight and win?"

"...It wouldn't have been chivalrous." Zastin replied, but stopped at Gid's tsk.

"Chivalry? Tsk. You still wanna be a knight after all these years?" The black haired Devilukean asked, picking up the sword from the ground.

"Of course! Being knight is an incredible honour. To follow the path of the great Knight Veloth of the first Devilukean empire, It is the purest representation of grace, honour and power." Zastin added _. 'not to mention I have his sword...'_ He added inwardly.

"I'm afraid to burst your bubble. But knights went out of fashion centuries ago, with the invention of advanced handheld firearms. Using weapons like a sword in this day and age is pointless." Gid lectured on, unwrapping the white tape around his hands. "Punches, tails and kicks on the other hand, never go out of fashion, na~"

* * *

 ***A while later…***

"I'm still going to be a knight." Zastin huffed out to Gid.

"The position...huff...doesn't exist anymore." Gid retorted, giving Zastin a little kick.

The two were now hanging from a large tree branch, with Gid doing pull-ups beside Zastin.

"Only a king can grant someone knighthood." Gid explained as he pulled himself up.

"Only a king..." Zastin repeated.

"Well I'm sure the current king of Deviluke wouldn't mind at all to give some thirteen-year-old orphan from nowhere a non-existing position." The spiky haired Devilukean chuckled sarcastically, bringing his tail around the branch. Once secure Gid let go and drooped upside down, now hanging from his tail.

"What if... What if you knighted me?" Zastin wondered, pausing to look his brother.

"Heh? Me?" Gid questioned, now doing sit-ups upside down. "You asking me to become the king so I can _knight_ you? Now why would I do that?"

"Because it's your destiny to become king a-"

"-and stop the war- yes you've said that like a thousand times." Gid said frustratingly, before sighing. "Don't be so naive to believe in destiny or fate Zastin. To be a king you'll need to have the right blood and the right name. Hell-" But just as he was about to continue, a great 'SNAP!' was heard the branch broke from the trunk.

"AAAAHH- Ooft!" The two screamed as they fell down onto the ground, broken branches and leaves covering them.

"...…" Zastin deadpanned with flat eyes as he blew the leaves off his face. "You couldn't find a sturdier branch?"

"I hate you..." Gid deadpanned on the ground, groaning.

* * *

 ***That evening… at the Inn…***

"'Scuse me! One order of spicy fries and three more of whatever this is please!" A man from a table stand called out.

"One fries and three specials coming right up!" Zastin called out, making his way to the bar. "Table five ordered three more of your special… concoction."

"Yush! Coming right up!" Gid replied, immediately getting to work as he brought out three silver mugs.

The inn was rousy and busy as usual. All chairs were filled and tables occupied as soft tavern music overlayed the scene. The aroma of food and alcohol spread everywhere in the halls, and laughter and fun filled where everywhere else.

"Ya know, after what happened last night… I'm surprised the innkeeper didn't fire us yet!~" Gid chuckled, mixing the drinks expertly.

"True, between this bartending job and our earnings from hunting, we're well on our way to buying our own aircraft." Zastin commented, leaning himself on the bar counter, looking at the dining room of the inn. "That is if you don't spend everything all the time." He deadpanned.

"Don't worry Zas, we'll see Deviluke soon." Gid replied, bringing the three mugs on the counter. "Three specials up!"

* * *

 ***Outside the inn…***

"Gahh we're finally here!" A voice growled tiredly. "Hopefully the boss man can stop complaining now…"

"Yaaaawn… I'm dying for a good meal… hope they got chicken…" The second yawned, his hands in his trench coat.

"The shipment was delivered on time, Boss can't say shit." The second loathed.

"Drinks on me tonight boys! We did good." The last one said, rudely kicking the door.

 **Bam!**

* * *

 **Bam!** The door slammed open, and four burly men stomped in, their imminent shadow covering the light from the outside. The tables and people dancing closest to them scuttled away startlingly, creating a small path from the doors to the bar. Zastin eyes widened in surprise at the four newcomers as he delivered the plates of food in his hands, handing them onto the tables. He then approached the four.

"Welcome to the Endurance Inn, how may I help-" Zastin started, but was interrupted when a hand shoved him in the chest.

"-Out of the way stretch!" The biggest of the four men casually pushed Zastin aside, making their way towards the bar through the crowded meal hall.

Gid stood at the bar, tending to the empty mugs and wine glasses with a towel when a startling boom shook the bar table. The Devilukean looked up to four menacing brutes with a feint smile. "Welcome to the Endurance Inn, how can I help you gentlemen?" The bartender greeted, smiling through his red eyes.

"Aren't you a bit too young to be working at the bar boy?" One of the four taunted as they took their seats by the bar, dragging bar stools annoyingly across the floor.

"I'm above the regional legal limit and certified sir." The boy replied. "How may I help you tonight?" Gid asked, caution on the back of his mind. _'These four men… they look like trouble.'_ He thought, eyes briefly flickering to Zastin.

"Hit us up with the hardest liquor in this establishment!"

"Certainly." The bartender replied as he began to work silently. As he mixed the drinks, he noticed Zastin walking by. The two brothers caught each other's attention as Gid gave out a few silent hand gestures that briefly translated to 'Watch them.' And with a silent nod, Zastin disappeared into the kitchen.

"So…" what brings four good men like you to this moon?" The bartender struck up the conversation.

"Gahh nothing much really. Just finished some deliveries and stopping by for a drink. Fuck some whores maybe tonight perhaps! Surely you've got some whores in this inn, right?~ " One of then men snickered.

"I see." Gid said with a slight disturbed expression, handing a tray of the mugs before the group. "Do you frequent this moon?" He asked curiously.

"We've been here only a couple times, the most recent being that accident four years ago."

' _Four years ago… accident?'_ Gid contemplated, thinking back to that night. _'The fire… the orphanage… four years ago…'_

"You're awfully chatty for a bartender." The large brute said, eyeing Gid with suspicious eyes.

"Stop torturing the little shit." The one next to the brute laughed, taking a mug. "Don't mind the big boss, he's just cranky 'cos he hadn't fucked anyone in seven days!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Hear hear!" The others cheered as they drank.

Gid silently sighed as he returned to his duties as a bartender. It is at times like these where he'd reconsider every life choice he's ever made leading up to this shift. Sure, the job came with complications and unpleasantries like this, but as does any job. It pays well at least. Still, life isn't without lessons; here he had learnt how to listen, gather information, to serve others.

* * *

And as the night went on, the Inn gradually mellowed along with the night. Meals were eaten and shots were taken, the music shifted to a more calm and soft tone. Gid sighed to himself in relief as he surveyed from the bar.

' _Shift ending in two more hours… that's just half an hour… four times…'_ Gid sighed inwardly, hosing down some wine glasses. _'They're still here…~'_

"Oi kid!" A brute yelled, "Another round of shots!"

"Another round coming up." Gid replied monotonously. Moments later, he carried a platter with for shot glasses on them.

"Bottom's up!" The four brutes, albeit drunk in their state, took the cups and saluted each other, before downing the shot of alcohol. "Whoooo!" They winced as their face contorted.

"That did it…" One uttered.

"We should hold back on the drrrinks… or else we can't do the *hick* deliveries tomorrrrrow…" The other tried to reason.

"And what do you people deliver?" Gid pried politely, now wiping down the table with a cloth.

"Explosives….zzzzz…" The smallest of the bunch replied, before seemingly nodding off.

' _Explosives?!'_ Gid thought in shock. "F-For the war?"

"What else kid?! That's the money maker right there!" The other slurred.

"I… I see…" Gid trailed off.

Out of the corner of the brute's eye, he caught a glimpse of a waitress walking by, a grey-haired barmaid with a tray of dishes in her hands.

"Whao… What do we have here?!" One of the brutes said, rudely grabbing on the maid's hand, pulling her towards him.

"No…!" The maiden said, the dishes now on the floor as she now pulled in with the brutes. "Hows about we grab a couple of drinks together and then you and the boys show you a good time eh?~" The brute teased, his other hand trailing down the maid's back.

' _This guy-!'_ Zastin raced in his mind as he approached the corner of the inn, where he had concealed his sword.

"No… please get off me- ahh!" The maid pleaded, her spine shivering as she felt hands playing with her hair and arms.

 **BOOM!**

The four drunkards jumped in surprise and stopped as they turned around. There the bartender was, his trident tipped tail lodged itself into the wooden counter of the bar, splitting the bar. The four men found themselves drawn into the glare of a pair of red eyes. Thee barmaid looked at the boy with hopeful eyes.

" **Let her go.** " Gid warned.

"Che." The biggest of the four pushed the barmaid away, who fell into the arms of Zastin. "What are you gunna do about it kid?" They threatened. Gid dislodged his tail from the bar table in anticipation.

But just as it got intense, a voice called out from behind them. "Hey! What going on here!?"

"Who the fuck are you huh?!" One of the drunkards asked.

"I'm the owner of this inn. And I think it's high time that the four of you leave this establishment!" The Devilukean scolded.

"Damned Devilukeans…" The man grovelled, looking back and forth between Gid, Zastin and the innkeeper. He briefly considered the possibility of a bar fight, but after eyeing Zastin and his sword by the side, and Gid's unusually shaped tail…

"Let's get out of this stinking shithole of an inn." The brute eventually said, knocking over bar stools on his way to the entrance, but not before spitting on the ground before the innkeeper. The three remaining brutes followed shortly after.

"We'll be back with blood and fire…" They mumbled drunkenly, stumbling their way out of the establishment.

With the commotion finally settling. The Devilukeans tended to one another.

"Are you alright?" Zastin asked caringly, an arm around the barmaid.

"Freya, are you hurt?" Gid asked, coming towards them.

"Mm." The barmaid shook her head.

"Leya! Keya!" Gid called for the other barmaids, who came running. "Take Freya back to a room. She's done for the night and needs rest." Gid instructed.

"Come along now Freya." The maids took her away down the corridor. "What did they do?"

"Attention all patrons and customers!" The innkeeper called out. "This is just a small complication and nothing to be worried about!" He reassured. Now he turned towards the two.

"Showtime's over kid. Get back to work. That bar isn't going to fix itself after what you just did." The innkeeper scolded.

"No fuck that!" Gid protested. "Those four idiots just assaulted Freya, slandered the Devilukean name, and spit on your establishment." The red eyed Devil said. "I'm gunna teach them a lesson."

"Gid-nii!" Zastin said alarmingly. 'This isn't good...'

"Look I'll file a complaint to the guards in the morning and they'll take care of it alright-"

"That's not enough!" Gid retorted at the adult. "When someone you care about or under you gets threatened and hurt, you don't just sit back and watch! You do something about it." Gid elaborated.

"Come Zastin, gather our things and let's go." Gid said, walking away out the door.

"E-Eh?" Zastin stuttered, looking back and forth between Gid and the innkeeper.

"If you leave now, I'll fire you." The innkeeper said threatened.

"Don't bother," Gid said, already marching out the door. "I quit."

"This brat…" The innkeeper mumbled, now looking at Zastin. "Wanna keep your job?"

"A-Ahh…" The heterochromic-eyed child was torn. Eyeing the open door and his employer. Until he finally made his decision. "S-Sorry!" He bowed, before running out the door and after Gid.

* * *

"What the hell was that?!" Zastin asked hysterically, catching up to Gid on the dimly lit dirt road leading out of town. "Did you just quit your job to go beat up someone?!"

"That's one way to look at it." Gid answered absentmindedly, looking left and right before hiding behind a tree.

"Well how the hell are we supposed to buy our own spaceship now?" Zastin asked. "This isn't the first time drunk people have done this, why now?" The thirteen-year-old asked. "This isn't safe… why are we following them?" Zastin asked.

"At the bar I overheard them talking. Those people belong to a service for delivering explosives to someone for the war. Turns out they've made deliveries through this planet before, the last one being four years ago, where one of them mentioned an 'accident'." Gid replied, moving into an alleyway.

"An accident… four years ago... here?" Zastin soon understood what Gid was alluding to. "Y-You don't mean… the fire at the orphanage..."

"Shhh!" Gid hushed, a hand over Zastin's mouth. "If we want to follow them, we have to be quiet." He said in a hushed tone. To the distance not so far from them, four figures could be seen loudly strutting about in the woods, walking out of the trading outpost.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

 **IT'S BEEN OVER TWO MONTHS SINCE I UPLOADED, BUT I'M PICKING UP WHERE I LEFT OF, ONLY WITH A 4 YEAR TIME SKIP.**

 **TIME SKIPS WILL BE A USED IN THE FUTURE IN ORDER TO CAPTURE THE ENTIRITY OF THE WAR AND THE TIMELINES OF DIFFERNET KEY CHARCATERS.**

 **LORE FACT #2: THE ROYAL SURNAME OF "DEVILUKE" IS ONLY GRANTED WHEN ONE ASCENDS THE THRONE, HE/SHE IS THEREAFTER 'MARRIED' INTO THE HOUSE OF DEVILUKE. GID IS CURRENTLY OF HOUSE LUCIONE.**

 **BUT IM INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT EVERYONE THINKS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER OR IS EXPECTING, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE REVIEWS SECTION!**

 **AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHAPTERS STILL TO COME!**

 **REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND LOVED!**

 **CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.**


	5. At Thine Mercy

**Chapter 5: At Thine Mercy**

* * *

 _Previously:_

" _What the hell was that?!" Zastin asked hysterically, catching up to Gid on the dimly lit dirt road leading out of town. "Did you just quit your job to go beat up someone?!"_

" _That's one way to look at it." Gid answered absentmindedly, looking left and right before hiding behind a tree._

" _This isn't the first time drunk people have done this, why now?" The thirteen-year-old asked. "This isn't safe… why are we following them?" Zastin asked._

" _At the bar I overheard them talking. Those people belong to a service for delivering explosives to someone for the war. Turns out they've made deliveries through this planet before, the last one being four years ago, where one of them mentioned an 'accident'." Gid replied, moving into an alleyway._

" _An accident… four years ago... here?" Zastin soon understood what Gid was alluding to. "Y-You don't mean…"_

" _Shhh!" Gid hushed, a hand over Zastin's mouth. "If we want to follow them, we have to be quiet." He said in a hushed tone. To the distance not so far from them, four figures could be seen loudly strutting about in the woods, walking out of the trading outpost._

* * *

 **Chapter 5: At Thine Mercy**

"Look, there they are!" Zastin hushed. The two Devilukean teens were atop of a tree branch, surveying the small clearing within the forest. Below them was a campfire and a small spacecraft parked near it.

"Fucken Devilukeans… ruining our perfect night off." One man grumble, kicking rocks into the fire, which flared in response.

"That kid with the weird tail… and the other one with the sword… what the fuck is up with those weirdos anyway…?" The brute replied.

"Zzzzzz…" The forth brute was soundly asleep inside the spacecraft, his snoring could be heard from the open bay door.

"If you'd like to find out, we'd be happy to provide some answers!~" A much familiar voice announced as the three woke brutes turned to the side of the clearing.

"W-Who's there?!" One of the drunken brutes demanded, standing up from the log.

"Why it's the kid with the weird tail and the one with the sword, of course~" The voice replied, finally revealing itself before the light of the campfire.

"What the fuck are squirts doing here?" The biggest of the brute asked, irritated at the sight of Gid and Zastin.

"Well initially my plan _was_ to make you four not-so-gentle men pay for what you did to Freya-san back at the inn. But I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about your previous trip to this moon four years ago." Gid elaborated suavely, edging closer to the three brutes. "You see, four years ago, right about that time when your mysterious accident happened with the delivery of your explosives were being made, there was a fire…" Gid stopped himself, his voice quivering slightly, much to Zastin's grim.

"…A huge… huge forest fire that burnt down half the forest on this side of the moon." And whilst Gid elaborated, Zastin took the chance to study the faces of the delivery men.

' _Their faces… why do they look nervous…!'_ Zastin thought. _'Gid couldn't be right… could he…?'_

"Look…Squirt." The biggest of the brutes threatened, waving an empty bottle around the air. "You're not welcomed here, run along or we _will_ hurt you."

"Oooh… _scary_." Gid taunted, his hands up sarcastically. "Do you deny the connection of your accident with the forest fire?" He asked.

"Gid?" Zastin raised his sword warningly, seeing three drunken brutes sizing them up.

"If asking you won't work, then I'll just have to break you!" Gid yelled, fists clenched. Zastin gave a look of concern as he raised his sword as well.

"You're in for a beating kid!-" The three brutes charged.

The first came forward with a swing of a bottle, to which Gid ducked with his arm up beside his head. The Devilukean reached over to the man's forward leg and pressed outwardly from within, causing the man to tumble to the ground. Gid snatched the bottle from his hand and smashed it across his head, shattering the glass bottle.

"Why you-!" The remaining two said, each approaching one of the Devilukeans.

"Stay back!" Zastin warned, his sword raised and poised at the drunkard. And as the drunk took violent swings with his fists, the thirteen year old inched backwards, moving his head out of the way. That went on until the man took an overly large hook as he ducked snuck behind the man. Now in position, the boy placed his blade by the man's heel and sliced.

"ARHH!" The brute cried in pain as he sunk to the ground, grabbing his ankle in agony as blood oozed out from gaping wound. Zastin then turned his attention to the small spacecraft nearby, where he heard rumbling and stirring.

The brute that Gid faced was more aware however. As the red eyed Devilukean came in for several punches, the brute managed to grab Gid and put him in a full nelson lock.

"It's over kid!" The brute growled, applying more and more pressure.

Just as it happened, the remaining brute came out of the spacecraft, a handgun pointing at Gid.

"Put this crazy kid down!" The man chocking Gid yelled, turning to face the man with the gun.

"No-!" The thirteen year old called out, making a bee-line for the man with the gun aimed. Just as the man was about to fire, Zastin came forth with his Morningstar swinging. In one fell swoop, the blade came up, cleaving the man's hand clean off. The gunshot misfired as the bullet went up in the air, and the hand fell to the ground.

It took the gunman several moments to register the pain as he locked eyes with Zastin's heterochronic eyes.

"Auhhhh! Ahhhhghhhaaa!" The man screamed in pain as he clutched his now non-existent hand with his other one. Zastin watched with horrified eyes as the man sunk to the ground, backing up to the side of a tree. The brute looked down, shaken at his wound, blood dripping from the exposed innards of flesh and bones. But the pain had seemed to have bested the man as he passed out. Zastin's sword hand quivered at the sight.

Meanwhile Gid was still struggling with the man's lock. The boy's trident tipped tail flailed behind him, and whacked the man by the groin.

"Gohh-!" The brute gasped as he felt the force down below. With the lock released, Gid elbowed the man in the gut and backwards headbutted the man in the face, hard. The man tumbled to the ground, his hand covering his nose.

"Now…I have just one **burning** question for you…" Gid trailed off with a growl, his tail how pushing itself against the brute's throat, his devilish red eyes piercing his soul. "What happened with the fire… four years ago?" He commanded.

"Al-alright… I-I-I'll talk!" The man quivered, swallowing a gulp as he felt the three prongs by his neck. "T…The fire… what we di-did… it was inevitable…-" But the brute didn't get to finish his explanation when Gid grabbed the man by the collar. And with an unnatural display of brute strength, the sixteen year old Devilukean picked the brute up with one hand, slamming his body onto a tree trunk.

"Why did you do this!?-" Gid questioned, his grip now on his throat.

"I… We all made the decision!-"

" **Why?!** "

"B-Because we-"

" **Whyyy?!** "

" **WHY?!** " Gid exploded, his grip reducing the man to gurgles.

"Gid-nii…." From the corner of his hearing, he heard Zastin's plead. "Stop…please…"

"…" Gid remained conflicted, his pained eyes flickering between Zastin and the man choking. He clenched his jaw as his facial expression twitched. Decisions decisions.

"Stop… Gid-nii!" Zastin pleaded, his hand now on Gid's shoulder.

" **Gahh!** " Gid exclaimed, releasing the grip as he brought his arm down.

"Gaaaaasp! Ahhhh...ha….ack…haa…" The man coughed on the ground. Zastin gave a sigh of relief while Gid turned away, huffing in frustration.

"How did you cause the forest fire?" Zastin asked the man.

"-!" The brute flinched at the sight of the sword in the boy's hand, a small trickle of blood dappering the soil underneath it. "F-Four years ago… my crew and I… we were delivering cargo- ex-explosives- to one of our distributers…" The man explained, coughing once in a while. "We were flying over this moon's airspace because it was the least patrolled of the channels. But that's when…"

"When what…?" Gid asked icily, still with his back turned.

"*Gulp* when our cargo ship experienced an engine failure." The brute reluctantly replied. "Something went wrong with the left engine, it couldn't sustain the weight of all the cargo we were carrying."

"So how did you pull through?" Zastin asked.

"In order for the ship to remain airborne, we had to…"

"We had to dump cargo."

"What?..." Zastin breathed.

"We had to dump just enough weight for the damanged engine to sustain its flight while we worked on a solution, or else we all would've crashed and burned!- ahhk!-" The brute was silenced as Gid's tail swung and whacked him across his face.

"Perhaps you should've." Gid stated coldly.

"W-We're just delivery men! We knew the forest was burning, hell we smelled the smoke from up there!" The brute argued, a sizable scratch across his cheek. "The people we work for and with, if they had found out that we d-dumped their cargo, we may have as well crashed with our ship and die."

"We had no choice but to cover it up, said it was lost during a confrontation with pirates!"

"A _quater_ of the forest woods on this hemisphere turned to _ash, b_ ecause of you." Gid said, his tone shaky.

"Just let me go, please!" The brute pleaded. "I'm sorry alright?!-" But his words were shortened when Gid's tail coiled itself around the man's neck, buckling against his skin.

"You **dare** apologise?!" Gid screamed.

"The orphanage… burned to the ground… because of you…"

"Those **children** burned alive… because of you…!"

The brute choked in slight confusion and fear. "I…ack- don't know nothing about no children…!"

"How could you possibly have, when you dropped fucking explosives on their heads."

"I-I didn't know- AHkkkk!-" The man was now silent, the snake like snake tightened its coils around the neck, shaking and buckling against itself.

"Gid…" Zastin warned his brother. "That's enough…"

"Gid-!"

"Raahh!" The boy seethed, releasing his tail, much to Zastin's relief.

"Thank you… thank you… thank you… thank-" The man thanked profusely, and was then promptly knocked unconscious with the butt of Zastin's blade.

"Why did you stop me?" Gid demanded, clenching his jaw and fist.

"Sometimes it's better to show injustice with mercy."

"And where did you get that load of crap from?" Gid asked irritatingly.

"'The Song of Knights', chapter five."

"To think... The orphanage... Burnt to the ground over an accident." Gid trembled, looking up at the starry sky. "Their dreams of going to Planet Deviluke... Burnt to ashes..."

"Their dream lives through us." Zastin said.

"... You're right." Gid replied, wiping his eyes. "There's nothing left for us on this moon, not after everything that has happened."

"These four represent a larger problem." Gid said. "The delivery of explosives wouldn't have happened if not for the War." The Devilukean duo walked around the campfire, feeling the warmth of the flickering fire, Zastin took the time to wipe his sword with a cloth tied around his waist. "Which begs the question..." Gid spoke inquisitively.

"How do we get off this planet now."

Then came upon them a moment of silence as they observed the scene around them. Four unconscious drunks, beatened and bloodied. The sound of campfire clicking beside an empty cargo ship.

The two teenagers looked to one another.

* * *

"We're breaking the law here!" Zastin warned as he followed Gid into the abandoned cargo ship.

"We just beat down two guys outside, you maimed one and crippled the other, and stealing their ship is where you draw the line?" Gid asked incredulously.

"Point." Zastin sighed, slowly exploring the cargo spacecraft. It was a simple design. A large and empty hull with dark and rusty skid marks, presumably from cargo loading it's done. The hanger soon converged into the nose of the ship, where seemingly complicated panels and seats laid before their eyes.

"Well… we have ourselves a ship. Now what?" The thirteen year old asked, looking at the intricate panel screens and buttons before him.

"Errr… Don't suppose you know how to fly one do you?" Gid sweatdropped.

"Crap…" Gid and Zastin groaned at once. The pair explored the small craft, looking around curiously.

' _Wonder if any of these buttons would work…?'_ Zastin pondered, touching the buttons on the blank panels.

' _That chair sure looks comfy.'_ Gid noticed, falling onto the captain's seat. He placed his arms on he handles and noticed a cube of some sort on the left end. Curious by its bluish glow, Gid's eyes furrowed as he touched it.

" **Welcome back, captain.** " The cube lit up, and a strange metallic voice echoed throughout the ship. The Devilukeans jumped at the sudden vocals bouncing around the ship.

"G-Gid what did you do?" Zastin asked nervously.

"I…I don't know, I just touched the cube." Gid said, pointing at the cube next to him. "A-Ah… who is speaking?" He called out nervously.

" **My name is Atlas, I am a Virtual Intelligence responsible for navigation and telemetry on this Freighter.** " The off-putting voice. It possessed no human qualities, there was no indication of gender or distinct accent.

"V-Virtual intelligence?" Zastin asked. "Like one of those self-aware robots?"

" **Incorrect. I am a VI codenamed Atlas- Automated Telemetry / Location Actualising Superior. Model number 21.1A.17. I exist for the purpose of the safe navigation of this vessel. I differ from Artificial Intelligence as I do not possess free will.** "

"O-Oh…" Zastin said, puzzled.

"Atlas can you get us to Planet Deviluke?" Gid asked the VI.

"Ship inventory: 90% available. Guidance systems: operational. Fuel cell: at 50%. Hyperdrive: 30% remaining." Atlas replied monotonously, to which Gid and Zastin looked at each other with perplex.

"Gid, I think it wants us to give it a command." Zastin suggested.

"But... I don't know the command." Gid replied. "Ahh fuck it." He told himself.

"Com-Command to Atla-s!" Gid broke out experimentally.

"Command to Atlas, captain's orders?" Atlas replied.

 _'it worked!'_ Zastin cheered inwardly.

"...Set course for Planet Deviluke…?" He tried.

"Is the captain issuing a formal flight plan for Planet Deviluke?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Certainly." The voice replied. Gid and Zastin shared a look of anticipation.

"All officers please secure yourselves in your assigned seat. Standby... Commencing autopilot sequence in ten...nine...eight..." Atlas. Begun the countdown.

The Devilukean duo looked at each other in bewilderment as they heeded Atlas's suggestions, sitting in their respective seats.

"We're finally getting off this moon!"

' _King Davo… your heir is one step closer to the throne… and stopping this war!'_ Zastin thought in silent triumph, feeling the increase gravitational pressure pushing in the back of his neck.

"Here we GOOOOOO!-" Gid exclaimed as the ship took off with a loud rumble. The metal inside the vessel rattled and shook. The nonsensical blinking lights from the control panel only add to their confusion.

The dark green scenery of trees and campfire changed through the window pane before them. Now falling away for the dark skies, which slowly, as they ascended higher into the atmosphere, became brighter. The frost that had crept around the windshield during the ascension had now faded.

Minutes of violent shaking and loud noises later, the freighter eventually settled down, mellowing out into an eventual glide.

"Wh… what happened? Did we make it?" Gid asked worriedly.

"Current location: 100km above Moon Endurance's higher orbit. Telemetry: stable. Caution- Hyperdrive power: 10%." Atlas reported.

"…" Wordlessly, Gid slid off the captain's chair and promptly disappeared into the hanger bay, looking out to the large window pane.

"Wait up!" Zastin called after the sixteen-year-old.

"Za-Zastin... We're out..." Gid said, hands on the glass pane, his red eyes glued to the unfamiliar scene unravelling before him. The pair found themselves at the helm of their destinies, looking out at the majesty of space, there they saw the glow of Moon Endurance, right up against them.

Gid then panned to their right, looking beyond the small moon they had once called home. The dark space that they were now traversing across. White red and blue sparkles lit up like fireflies across his field of vision, with the brightest one large and red.

"Look there... Planet Deviluke..." The celestial giant stood amongst the largest of them all, blur and green, with tinges of red like clouds scattered all over. And surrounding the planet were its remaining six moons. "It's beautiful..."

"Atlas, how long until we arrive?" Gid asked.

"Ceterus paribus: twelve hours and seventeen minutes." The VI replied.

"Damn~" Gid whistled. "Guess we're gunna be here a while." He said, approaching the messy table and benches by the side of the hull. "They must have some food on this ship right?..." Gid muttered, disappearing into another room to the side.

* * *

 ***Short while later...***

"Ahh, would you look at that!" Gid cheered from the other room, emerging into the hanger with a boxful of items. "Look what I found."

"Mhm." Was the soft sound that escaped Zastin's mouth.

"Hey..." Gid noticed the boy sitting alone by the hanger bay, looking down at the sword in his hand, which seemed to be shaking. "What's wrong Zas?" Gid asked.

"I-it's nothing…" Zastin waved off, rather unconvincingly.

"You shouldn't need to hide anything from me." Gid said, walking up to his little brother. "Now, what's wrong?"

"Back there... Where we took this ship..." Zastin began as his trembling increased. It took Gid almost no time to figure out the cause. "That was your first time using the Morningstar against people, wansn't it?" Gid realised.

The thirteen old remained silent, looking at the stained edges of his blade. "Ever since I first got this sword... I had known that one day... I'd eventually have to use it against real enemies... But now..."

"Zas, calm down." Gid knelt down before the boy, a reassuring and firm hand on his shoulder. "Breath..."

"I severed the tendons in one of their ankles... And chopped off another's hand. Oh god... What if they're dead...-"

"Zas! Calm down!" Gid interrupted. "None of this is on you." He tried to reason. "I'm the one who decided to attack them for answers."

"But still, I held the sword."

"Only because I told you to." Gid said. "Listen... They may be dead, they may not be. Regardless, I understand the feelings you're going through."

"Yo-You do?" The shakened Zastin asked.

"Mmhm." Gid offered a smile to the thirteen year old. "Years ago, back at the orphanage... When I saw the caretaker's body lying cold before me. I went through the same thing you did. I didn't know what to think. But d'you know what kept me sane?"

"Wh-what?" Zastin asked, now calming down, looking at Gid.

"It's that no matter what you do, however heinous the action, do it to protects the ones you care about."

"My...own reason?" Zastin repeated, now appearing to be in deep contemplation.

"Think on that a while. I'm gonna go find supplies on this ship." Gid gave Zastin a casual pat on the head before standing up, disappearing into another room of the ship.

Zastin stared holes into his sword, pondering upon his brother's words. Everything started when he met the ghost of the first king of Deviluke, the Morningstar and the pendant around Gid's neck is a constant reminder to those aware.

 _'Helping Gid become king... That should be enough reason...'_ Zastin suggested in his mind, holding his sword tight.

* * *

 ***Short while later..***

"Would you look at that!" Gid exclaimed from the other room.

"Wh-What's in the box?"

"A full case of Devilukean sweet wine, tucked away in boxes!" Gid announced excitedly. "They might look ordinary, but don't be fooled, these cases are some of the most expensive wines in our cluster."

"Don't suppose there's any real food on this ship...?" Zastin sweatdropped. _'How does he manage to find alcohol in every situation...'  
_  
"Ehh there's some in the other room." Gid waved off, pulling the cork on the new bottle."

"Sigh..." The heterochromic teen huffed, walking into the other room. "Don't drink yourself to death!" He warned.

"Bummer..." Gid mumbled as he downed the bottle.

* * *

 ***Four hours later…***

"Mhmm...-!"

"W...K...P..."

"WAKE UP ZASTIN!"

"E-Eh?!" His blue and grey eyes snapped open at Gid's urgent plea. "Wh-Whats happening?-!" But just as he asked, the ship rocked violently, shaking the bottles and maps off the table.

 **"Multiple electromagnetic pulses detected! Electron shield capacity at 30%!"** Atlas reported, it's voice becoming static.

"Yea we detected that too..." Gid mumbled, rubbing his aching head as he stood up next to Zastin.

"What are we going to do?" Zastin asked the boy worriedly.

"I... I'm thinking..." Gid stuttered as he froze. "S-Ship status!"

 **"Due to unforseen electromagnetic interference from a nearby planet, The ship has drifted off course from Planet Deviluke and has entered the gravitational field of a nearby planet."**

"W-Well... Any chance we can get out of the field and keep going?!" Gid asked worriedly.

 **"This planet's gravitational field is disproportionately stronger given its mass and density. This gravitational field could be artificially amplified. As such, our freighter has no capabilities of escaping it. Recommended action: emergency planet fall-zzz...zzzzt!"** Atlas voice buzzed and paused, becoming static by the second.

"Emergency planet fall... What does that mean?"

"It means... We have to land." Gid said, looking at the planet closest to them.

Cloudy and brown, the planet seemed to be covered in rocks. "O-On that?!" The grey haired teen shrieked.

"Command to Atlas!" Gid called out for a the VI, but silence and static chatter was the response.

"How are we going to land this ship now?"

"Luckily for us, I've been reading some of the control manuals that came onboard this ship." Gid said. "At least we'll have our hands full before we crash and burn."

"Is this really a time for jokes?!'" Zastin retorted as another tremor shook the ship sideways.

"There's no better reminder of life than the face of death!" Gid said, hopping onto a seat before the control panel. "All hands on deck Zastin,

"Let's land this thing!"

* * *

 ***As time passed...Planet surface...***

"A thunderstorm…?" A figure stood up from the log by a small campfire, pink eyes shot wide awake at the loud 'BOOM' that had clapped in the skies moments ago.

The skies above her were grey, clouded with purple lightning.

The figure paced up the rocky cliffs, walking out of her shelter, a sizable sack over the shoulders, but that didn't stop her. She looked up towards the night sky. But that was when she saw it.

 _'Is that a satellite…no. A comet perhaps…!'_ She pondered the possibilities, when suddenly, a small ball of fire seemingly burst through the thundering skies.

Alas, the figure in the red hooded cowl chased the unidentified flying object till she reached the edge of a tall cliff. She looked up at the night sky, pulling her cowl down, exposing her pink hair.

"What..." She breathed, her face glowing red and yellow as she watched the burning heap of a spacecraft glide over the skies above her.

"A spaceship…?" She breathed in shock, watching it as it entered the atmosphere. _'This could be it!'_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES:** **SO MANY IDEAS… SO LITTLE TIME… HOPING FOR SOME FEEDBACK/COMMENTS FROM READERS! REVIEW MEAN A LOT! :D**

 **WHO COULD THE GIRL WITH PINK HAIR BE... I WONDER :P**

 **LORE FACT #3: 'THE SONG OF KNIGHTS' IS COLLECTION OF HYMNS AND RULES SET OUT BY THE FIRST ORDER OF KNIGHTS, LEAD BY THE GREAT ARCHKNIGHT VELOTH, SERVANT OF THE FIRST KING OF DEVILUKE.**

 **AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHATPERS STILL TO COME!**

 **REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND LOVED!**

 **CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.**


	6. Divinity Polarity

**Chapter 6: Divinity Polarity**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _The figure paced up the rocky cliffs, walking out of her shelter, a sizable sack over the shoulders, but that didn't stop her. She looked up towards the night sky. But that was when she saw it._

'Is that a satellite…no. A comet perhaps…!' She pondered the possibilities, when suddenly, a small ball of fire seemingly burst through the thundering skies.

Alas, the figure in the red hooded cowl chased the unidentified flying object till she reached the edge of a tall cliff. She looked up at the night sky, pulling her cowl down, exposing her pink hair.

"What..." She breathed, her face glowing red and yellow as she watched the burning heap of a spacecraft glide over the skies above her.

" _A spaceship…?" She breathed in shock, watching it as it entered the atmosphere.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Divinity Polarity**

 **(Music for mood: No Time for Caution – Interstellar OST)**

"Steady...steady as she goes...!" Gid repeated, holding the stick on one hand, and a lever on another. The ship beeped and red sirens flashed all over.

"We're moving too fast!" Zastin called out, barely holding on as the ship creaked and rumbled. A small ring of fire surrounded the wet windshield at the helm of the shield as they descended nose first through the atmosphere.

"Clouds… Everywhere!" Zastin observed in fright, seeing nothing but a sift of dark grey. "There's nowhere to land!-" But just as he spoke, a bolt of lightning flashed and struck the aircraft.

"AHH!" Gid struggled as he was thrown off his seat, rolling to the side of the rocking ship. Without his hand on the control stick, the ship began to violently shift and vibrate, pushing the ship at an even steeper angle.

"Zastin!" Gid called out, struggling to maintain balance. "Zastin grab the stick!"

"I'm trying!" Zastin responded as he reached for the control panel. He remained there hesistant for a moment. "Wh-What do I do?!"

"Pull it back before the ship tips over any more! NOW!" Gid called out, again being thrown to the sie of the ship from a shockwave. _'At the rate we're going, this ship will crash and burn!'_ Gid thought as he attempted to stand up, his tail now securing itself onto the railings on the ceiling.

 **ZAAAPPP!**

"Shit!-" Shockingly, a thundering clap slapped the left side of the aircraft, tearing one of the wall panels away, leaving a section of the aircraft completely exposed to the elements.

" **Warning: Hull integrity: 69%. Electron shield integrity: Critical.** " The ship's VI responded, beeping and red emergency lights flashed throughout the ship's hull.

"ZAS!" Gid urged, taking a peek through the newly ripped opening of the ship. He was met splatters of rain water, now dampening the insides of the ship. The howling of winds from the outside clouded his vision. But through the elements, he saw the horizon below them.

"Ughhh….!" The grey haired Devilukean pushed, pulling on the stick with both hands, legs pushing against the floor. And surely but slowly enough, the ship began to level.

Through Gid's open view from the side of the aircraft, they had just left briefly exited the layer of clouds, and he slowly started to make out the landscape that laid ahead.

' _Disengage forward thrusters...!'_ Gid shouted in his mind, picking himself up and to the control panel, he fumbled around until he got his hands on a silver lever.

"On the count of three, I need you to try and hold the stick as hard as you can! That's the only thing keeping this ship level!" Gid shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the insane howling of winds.

"What happens at the count of three?!" Zastin asked.

"One!" Gid yelled out, positioning himself before the leaver.

"Two!"

"What are you doing?!" Zastin yelled beside him, holding onto the stick.

"Three!" Gid shouted, cranking the lever to a forward position. A loud creaking sound reverberated through the ship as the hummings of engines abruptly ended. The sudden silence overtaken by the winds and rains from the gaping wound of the hull.

Gid and Zastin looked at one another for a brief moment, their eyes dilating slightly. With the engines shutting off, there was only one way the aircraft will be going.

"Uh oh."

"AHHHHHH!" The two shrieked, now freefalling along with the aircraft. The duo felt funny in their innards as they levitated from their seats, hitting the ceiling as they plummeted.

"This was your great idea?!" Zastin called out incredulously, flailing in the air for anything to grab onto.

"You think so?!" Gid sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes.

" **Warning: Altitude falling rapidly.** " Atlas reported as the control panel beeped and blinked red.

"Zas! We have to engage that-" But before he could continue the ship creaked and spun, all that was loose on the ship flailed about, swishing and suspended in the air. Gid and Zastin bumped from one side of the hull to the other.

"Gahh!-" Zastin groaned as he managed to grab hold of the edge of his seat, but Gid wasn't so lucky. "Gid-nii!" Zastin cried out.

"Shit-!" The trident tailed Devilukean tensed up as he was slammed onto the side of the ship's hull, dangerously close to the gaping tear. With a desperate effort, Gid hung on to whatever he could, his tail lodged itself into the wall.

"That lever!" Gid pointed with a hand to something behind Zastin. "That lever will activate the stabilisation thrusters!" He yelled against the wind.

"Which one?" Zastin asked confusedly, looking at the plethora of levers and blinking lights on the already sparking panel.

"Just…!" But Gid hadn't the time to clarify. One glance to the outside world from the gaping hole had told him all he needed to know.

There was no time.

"Pull me!" Gid called, pressing his legs up against the hull behind him, his trident tipped tail dislodged itself from the side of the hull. "Get me to the control panel!"

"M…Mhm!" Zastin nodded determinedly, readying himself by hanging onto the edge of a table that he was holding on, he supported himself with two legs and a tail, hands outstretched. "I'm ready!"

"Ike! (Goo!)" With a hefty grunt, Gid pushed off the wall in freefall. And to his relief, their hands found one another as Zastin pulled as hard as he could, swinging the boy to his left.

"There!" Gid confirmed, approaching the blue lever Alas, amidst the rocking and spinning of the ship, he grabbed held of the lever. "Hold on to something Zas!" He called out, before pulling the lever down.

 **Click!**

 **VRRRRRRRVRRRRVRRVRVRRR...**

Without warning, a loud hum one again filled the hull, and with it came the familiar force of gravity.

"Augh!" Gid and Zastin grunted in pain as they rolled and tumbled to the floor of the spacecraft at an alarming rate. And for them, all went to black with a bang.

* * *

 ***Nine hours later…***

 **(Music for Mood: The Born King – King Arthur Legend of the Sword OST)**

' _You have accomplished a great deal, Zastin of Deviluke…'_

 _'F...First King Davo… It is not enough.'_

' _I sense despair within your soul, child.'_

' _I have already failed you... and your descendent…-'_

' _Be calm child and remain steadfast. For the path of the righteous is paved with difficulties and sacrifice.'_

' _And you will be the knight that will guide my last descendent to his destiny.'_

' _Do you really think I can be a knight? Gid doesn't think so…'_

' _The Morningstar which has been passed down through the ages to you from the Great Veloth himself has grown accustomed to you, that is not a coincidence.'_

' _Now go!'_

* * *

"Wake up!" Grey and blue eyes blinked open at the voice. And soon a slap to the face annoyed him from his slumber.

"Ugh…Wh… What was that for?" Zastin asked, sitting up.

"Are you hurt?" Gid asked, helping Zastin to sit up.

"Doesn't feel like it…" Zastin groaned, stretching his neck and back. He gave out a few coughs and blinked, savouring the feeling of soil under his hands. "Wh-Where are we?" Zastin asked confusedly, looking around the scenery. Out in the open elements, Zastin laid, the freighter spaceship beside them, surrounded by a ring of fallen of squashed bushes and fallen trees.

"We must've landed on the planet during the storm last night." Gid huffed, standing up.

"More like crash landed…" Zastin commented, staring to the black smoke rising from the ship's side, to which Gid rolled his eyes on.

"I-Is the spaceship functional?" Zastin asked.

"Atlas?" Gid redirected the question to the virtual intelligence.

" **Multiple drive core failures. 7 of 8 engines offline. Hull damage critical. Electron shield: 100% depleted.** "

"Christ…" Zastin sighed, a defeated look on his face. "But how is Atlas still working?" He wondered.

" **My black box matrix is designed to be securely detached from the freighter's mainframe in the event of a crash or other ship failures. Your recommended action is to keep this matrix and deliver it to appropriate authorities."** The robotic voice replied as the segmented black cube in Gid's hand flashed red.

"Right… That's going to be a problem, considering we don't even know where we are…" Zastin figured.

"Follow me." Gid said, "I'll show you something."

"Where are we going?" Zastin asked, retrieving his sword and followed his brother.

* * *

"While you were out, I took the liberty to scout out the terrain around us, to find more food and water." Gid explained, trekking up the rocky hill, kicking dirt and pebbles out of the way.

The two Devilukeans soon reached the top of the hill, where it rolled out into a flat rocky terrain, canyons snaking all around them, with sparse vegetation all over. The two suddenly covered their faces as a harsh hot breeze blew over them.

"According to Atlas's location system, this is Planet D1112," Gid gestured the horizon, "And THAT, is Deviluke-" He pointed to the sky. It took Zastin a fair bit of squinting to identify the purple orb in the sky, glinting.

"…." Silence overcame them both as they soaked in their current predicament. The continuous chirping of bugs and the soft howls of summer winds edged them all the more closer to despair.

' _Great… not even three days into it and we're already stranded…'_ Gid thought frustratingly.

"…Wh…What are we supposed to do now…?" Zastin wondered.

"…I…" But Gid stopped himself. "I'm asking myself the same question…" He admitted, looking up at the lacklustre morning sky.

* * *

 ***Same Planet D1112… Approximately 150 kilometres away…***

Shek…Shek…Shek…

Sounds of boots striking soft soil and gravel beating the rocky earth as a hooded figure's march came to a brief halt. Looking up, the figure saw a shaded concaved s on her beaten canyon path, the figure wasted no time and took refuge.

"Ahh…" Sitting by a rock, the figure pulled down the hood of her red cowl, letting out her long slightly wavy pink hair. "That's much better…~"

She fumbled around with the dark green rucksack by her side and retrieved her canteen of water, and another disk like device.

A refreshing drink later, she then focused on the metallic disk in her hands, and pressed the button on the centre. The disk, with its golden troughs and glyphs etched into its surface, began to light up in a soft golden glow. And form the centre, a light projected a holographic likeness of a man.

* * *

 **(Music for Mood: Gabriella's Video – Logan OST)**

' _Is that… father!'_ The girl thought, her pink eyes watering slightly.

" **Sephie… My sweet baby girl… If you have opened this message, then the worst of fates has surely befallen me and our remaining Charmian rebels spread out across this galaxy. Your mother and I love you very much, and it goes without saying that you, the royal princess of Old Charmia, is of great importance to the survival of our race and heritage. And I only hope that by the time you view this message, you would be old enough to understand. Amidst this great chaos that has befallen the galaxy, it all started with Apollyon, my sister, and your aunt. Apollyon was military adviser to my reign as king before she was radicalised by the idea of Charmian superiority. She attempted to introduce a kingdom wide artificial forced sterilisation program – to prevent procreation outside the Charmian race, to ensure the bloodline stays pure. Those who have procreated outside the race were put down, as did their mixed blood children… By the time I discovered her treachery, it was too late…** "

" **My sister instigated a military coup, overthrowing my reign. With you as a babe in my arms, I fled our home-world, along with those who were still loyal to me. Without a home, our Charmian 'tribe' travelled nomadically across the galaxy, fighting a secretive civil war for our survival across the stars. But… nothing has prepared us for what she did… the chaos that she has brought upon the world… to get to you… the last Charmian untouched by the sterilisation program...** "

"- **Transmission error: Type three-** " The disk spoke out. And the video became distorted, the message now reduced to chaotic static sounds, with semblances of speech scattered.

" **Sephie… My sweet baby girl… if you have opened this message…** " The message repeated, and Sephie pressed the button the disk, ending the transmission.

The girl gave a long breath, absorbing it all in.

' _Father… I will stop Apollyon…I'll find a way!'_ The girl vowed. _'But… what has Apollyon done that had father was so afraid of…?'_ She wondered. But her train of thought derailed when an aircraft from above shadowed the sky above briefly. Her eyes widened as she pushed herself to the back of the small cave, not moving an inch while maintaining a gulp.

Soon the noise of engine disappeared as the cloud of suspense evaporated, Sephie gave a deep breath and dropped to her knees. _'Can't let them catch me!'_ She told herself, before picking up her backpack, pulling the red cowl over her head as she continued on the path to the heap of smoke.

* * *

 ***Four days later… freighter crash site…***

"This should be enough food for another three days or so." Zastin huffed, hauling the chain of game over his shoulders, arrows and hooks sticking out of their hides and scales.

"So bored…" Gid groaned comically, rolling around on the ground.

"Just start the fire, I'm starving." Zastin told him, his scorpion taipped tail lifted up to Gid. The boy took the tail top and struck it against his own trident one, sparking flames onto the campfire.

"What is there to do besides training and searching for intelligent life on this rock?" Gid asked.

"All we need to do is to find a way off this rock and head to Deviluke to sign up for the army." Zastin said, hope in his eyes as he began skinning the game he caught. Out of the corner off his blue and grey eyes, he saw Gid standing yp, heading away from their camp.

"Where are you going?" Zastin asked.

"That canyon peak over there." Gid pointed to a tall structure nearby in the distance. "It's close enough that I can completely the round in half a days time, and high enough to light sugnal fires and scout terrain."

"R-Right…" Zastin responded as Gid disappeared.

* * *

 ***Nearby canyon… two hours later…***

"You won't get away this time!" The hunters yelled.

"Get away from me!" Sephie yelled out, running up along a ridge that wraped around the canyon. The heavy rucksack over her shoulders shaking and stirring. Eventually, she reached the end of the ridge, with a small jagged gap through the rock wall.

Sephie halted before the end, looking back and forth between the narrow path before her, and the three hunters hot on her tail.

' _I have no choice!'_ Sephie gritted her teeth as she ventured forth, squeezing through the rocky gap, throwing her backpack to the side. She pushed as hard as she can through the gap, feeling its rocky surface scraping her face and legs.

"Get back here already!" The hunters growled, reaching their hands inside the gap, clawing at the pink haired girl. Their hands flailed, mere inches away from her face.

"Guah!" With pained grunts, Sephie reached the end of the gap, falling out on the other side. The path before continued to spiral to the top of the canyon. Without hesitation, she pushed off the ground and continued on her escape.

"Grrr… stand back!" Sephie heard the One of the bounty hunters said. And for a moment, all was calm, with little high pitched 'beeps' repeating.

 **BOOM!**

"Kyaa-!" Sephie yelped, feeling a shockwave blasted her from behind as she stumbled, tumbling down to the rocky ground before her, ragdolling and rolling to a stop a distance away.

The girl gave an annoyed snicker as she struggled to get up from the ground. Her face contorted in pain as she felt the stinging pain on her left knee and various parts of her body. Her pink eyes widened s she looked back to the rocky gap, which had now been obliterated.

With nothing standing between the girl and the three hunters, they crept closer and closer to their target, when all of a sudden, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Eh?" Sephie wondered, suddenly feeling a cool breeze over her face, and her pink hair flowed with it. It was then when she felt it.

The red cowl was gone, on the ground next to her, dirtied and torn.

' _Oh no… they can see my face…!'_ Sephie thought in fright as the three hunters took on a drastic change.

"What do we have here?~" The boar-like bounty hunter said, love hearts replacing his eyes.

"Let's… have some fun… before we collect our bounty…~" The other said, his snout dripping saliva.

"This is the _real_ bounty…!~" The last hunter slurped, his tongue out grotesquely.

' _This isn't good…!'_ She screamed in her head, furiously looking away and shying her face away, inching herself back from the three men. "S-Stay back! Back away!" She called out.

But the three men weren't listening at this point. Their shadows dawning on the girl, hands teaching forward towards her.

 _'Mother...Father...I'm sorry...I'm about to be...-'_ She thought as she closed her eyes, waiting for her fate much worse than death.

But without warning, in the darkness she heard quickened footsteps from the side.

"Wh-Who are you?!"

"Get out of the way boy!"

'A boy...?' Sephie thought, her eyes remaining closed. Feeling a new presence before her.

 **Bang!**

 **Doom!**

 **Pow!**

 **Bufff!**

In a matter of seconds, Sephie winced with each blow she heard, her body jolting as she heard bodies thrown around and even the cracking of bones. Covering her ears proved to be ineffective.

"Geez...what kind of adults are you... Chasing after a kid..." A new voice grumbled with a sigh.

 _'That voice... A boy!'_ Sephie thought as she opened her eyes once again, and was immediately shocked to see the three large bounty hunters, unconscious and piled up on top one another, love hearts still lingering in their eyes.

"That's beyond lame..." The boy sighed disappointingly with a hand on his hip. Sephie eyed the boy in wonder, at his nonchalantly swishing tail in particular. "So? Are you from this planet?" The boy asked, turning to look at her.

"I-I'm not!" She replied nervously, grabbing her red cowl from the ground and hastily pulling if around her. "M-My tribe is a wandering race without a home planet…"

"Well whatever~ You should be grateful to me~" Gid flaunted, walking towards the girl. "I…happened to stop by this planet for combat training, and you were saved thanks to that." Gid said, his eyes slightly twitching from the lie. _'Mustn't lose face in front of a girl!'_

But the girl cared not for his reasons, instead, she stood up, perplexed by their conversation, and more importantly, his red eyes.

' _He…He's looking at me… He's not reacting like the others…?!'_ Sephie thought as she stood up. "Are you… still okay? Even after looking at my face?"

"Haah? What are you talking about?" The Devilukean asked with eyebrows raised, hands on hips.

"I'm asking if you're still okay after seeing my beautiful face!?" The girl asked dryly. Never in her life had she encountered this problem before.

"HAAH!? Are you calling yourself beautiful on your own, you _midget_ girl?!" Gid retorted. _'Who does she think she is?'_

"You're more of a midget than me!" Sephie quipped. It was true, intentionally looking down on him, comically hitting a nerve with Gid.

"WHAAT?! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!" Gid yelled grumpily, fist in the air, a red tick on his forehead.

"How would I know, you idiot!" replied the pink haired maiden. "If that pisses you off, then go ahead and tell me!"

" **I AM GID OF DEVILUKE! AND I'M THE MAN WHO WILL QUELL ALL WARS IN THE UNIVERSE, AND STAND AT THE TOP OF IT ALL!"**

' _Gid…'_ The name resonated within her as she peered into those deep red eyes, filled with unshakable determination and swelling with hope, not beguiled by her beauty. It was the first time she had looked into a man's eyes, properly, and she couldn't help but be mesmerised.

"So? What are you doing on this planet?" Gid asked.

"…I was on my way to planet Deviluke when I took a detour and landed. But that was a few weeks ago and my ship has ran out of fuel." Sephie explained, looking to the side. "You… wouldn't have a way to get off this planet…?"

' _Crap!'_ He swore inwardly. "I…err… we…uh.. That's none of your business!" He grumbled.

"…" Sephie sweatdropped as she looked at the smoking heap in the distance. "Could it be… that you crash landed here a few nights ago?" She asked dryly, though she almost knew for certain.

"S-Shut it! We'll be out of here in no time!" Gid said, flustered with embarrassment.

"Uh huh." Sephie sighed. "What a disappointment… To think you were my hope of getting out of here…"

"Fine! I'm gunna go, don't expect me to save you again!" Gid said, walking the opposite direction down the canyon.

"That's fine by me!" The girl retorted, walking in the other direction.

"Uhghh…" The three bounty hunters mumbled, soundly unconscious.

* * *

 ***4 Hours later…***

"Oosh!" Zastin exhaled, going through his form with his blade. Swift and graceful strokes, like writing with a pen. Precise, with purpose.

"I'm back!" Gid announced tiredly as Zastin stopped.

"Ah, the meat skewers and wild greens wraps are just ready..." Zastin said, when he soon noticed the large bag over Gid's shoulders. "where did you find that?"

"At the bottom of the canyon. Someone must've dropped it." He waved off. "Didn't find anything interesting."

"Ahh well... Wait...-" Zastin halted. "We're not alone on this planet?"

"Apparently not-"

"-And you didn't think it was a big deal at all?!" Zastin exploded.

"Calm down Zas, I only ran into one girl. Travelling alone."

"You ran into a girl..." Zastin analysed with a stressed tone. 'Of all the things he could encounter... He meets a girl...'

"And where is this girl?" Zastin asked, looking around.

"We went our separate ways."

"Are you serious..." Zastin shot a downcasted look at the ground, comically defeated. "Strength in numbers never occurred to you?"

"How is one girl going to help us? Just one more mouth to feed while we figure out a way to get outta here."

"We're never getting off this planet." He stated blanked to himself, lying flat on the grass.

"What was that?"

"Nothing… Just eat..." Zastin said, comically crying on the ground.

* * *

 ***A while later… sundown…***

"Damn it… Where is it…?!" The pink haired girl grumbled, pacing around the canyon. _'I swore I dumped it here…'_

"My supplies! There's no way I can survive on this God forsaken planet by myself now! And I've already told that midget that I…-"

But then it clicked.

The girl peered towards the distance towards the tower of smoke by the small stretch of woods, to the freighter wreckage.

' _That boy Gid, could he have-…'_

* * *

 ***Towards the evening… sundown…***

Not one, but two suns slowly descended to the horizon, fading away for the night. It's bright yellowish light dulling into an orange and purple hue. And underneath it all, two tailed boys laid around a campfire.

"Man! This stuff is good!" Gid exhaled, lucking his lips as he tossed the wooden skewer into the fire. "Your future wife is lucky,- assuming that she's indeed a she~" He teased.

"Still not in love with my sword..." Zastin responded halfheartedly, wiping down his blade with a wet cloth.

"Uh huh~" Gid winked and laughed.

"I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!" Suddenly, a voice called out from behind the two Devilukeans.

"Who's there?!" Zastin answered, turning around with his green blade raised into a high side guard, letting the blade rest on his left forearm.

"Wait Zastin, that's-" Gid called out as he saw Sephie walking towards them. "You, girl, what are you doing here?" Gid demanded.

"You have something I want!" She demanded with the same tone.

"If that's your attempt to get into my pants, you're not doing a very good job…~ whatever your name is."

"It's Sephie! And I'm not trying to-"

"-So it was yours after all," the raven coloured haired boy responded. "If that's what it takes to get you to go, fine. Zas, give her the bag."

...

"Zastin?"

But the swordsman was not listening at all. Rooted in his place, Zastin's heterochromic eyes remained glued to the girl's face.

' _Oh no… he saw my face!'_ Sephie grimaced at herself. She had forgot to wear her cowl.

"Zas?" Gid repeated, shaking the boy by the shoulders. "You alrig- woah!-"

"WRYYYYY!~~" Zastin exploded in a way which Gid had never seen before, perhaps seemingly in more ways than one. The boy dropped his sword and charged at the girl, who backed away against a tree.

"Wait-!" Gid chased after his younger.

"Eeek! Get that boy away from me!" She shrieked, seeing the swordsman getting closer and closer.

Without hesitation, Gid leaped and spun, his tail followed suit and caught around Zastin's neck, yanking him back to the ground. "Oi! Zas!- huh…?" And as Gid violently wrestled Zastin on the ground, he noticed the boy's flushed face and wild eyes, lustfully snapping around.

"Let me go! I want her!" The ashen-haired teen yelled out, his eyes disoriented and desparately looking for the girl he had just laid eyes on.

"Snap out of it!" Gid yelled as he gave the boy a swift punch to the head.

"…zzzz….." But Zastin was knocked out cold.

"Goddammit…" Gid whispered under his tired breath, standing up next to Zastin. He turned his attention to the girl. "You've got some explaining to do." He told the girl, who now had her hood up. _'But… the way Zastin reacted… it was almost the same as those bounty hunters… what the hell…?'_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: A HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR TO ALL READERS OF THIS STORY. PREOCCUPIED FROM OTHER THINGS AND NEW GAMES COMING OUT I HAVE BEEN PROCRASTINATING FROM FINISHING THIS CHAPTER :P**

 **DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS STORY, SERIES LIKE 'MASS EFFECT' AND 'VIKINGS' WILL LIKELY TO HAVE AN INFLUENCE IN THIS STORY (IN RELATION TO THE STYLE, NOT THE ACTUAL CONTENTS IN THE SERIES, ALTHOUGH SOME WILL BE INSPIRED).**

 **THE FATED ENCOUNTER BETWEEN ANGEL AND DEVIL, WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK OF THIS CHAPTER EH?**

 **AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHAPTERS STILL TO COME!**

 **REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND LOVED! (PLEASE!)**

 **CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.**


	7. Live (Act 2 end)

**Chapter 7: Live (Act 2 end)**

* * *

 _Previously:_

' _Oh no… he saw my face!' Sephie grimaced at herself. She had forgot to wear her cowl._

" _Zas?" Gid repeated, shaking the boy by the shoulders. "You alrig- woah!-"_

" _WRYYYYY!~~" Zastin exploded in a way which Gid had never seen before, perhaps seemingly in more ways than one. The boy dropped his sword and charged at the girl, who backed away against a tree._

" _Wait-!" Gid chased after his younger._

" _EEK! Get that boy away from me!" She shrieked, seeing the swordsman getting closer and closer._

 _Without hesitation, Gid leaped and spun, his tail followed suit and caught around Zastin's neck, yanking him back to the ground. "Oi! Zas!- huh…?" And as Gid violently wrestled Zastin on the ground, he noticed the boy's flushed face and wild eyes, lustfully snapping around._

" _Let me go! I want her!" The ashen-haired teen yelled out, his eyes disoriented and desperately looking for the girl he had just laid eyes on._

" _Snap out of it!" Gid yelled as he gave the boy a swift punch to the head._

"… _zzzz….." But Zastin was knocked out cold._

" _Goddammit…" Gid whispered under his tired breath, standing up next to Zastin. He turned his attention to the girl. "You've got some explaining to do." He told the girl, who now had her hood up. 'But… the way Zastin reacted… it was almost the same as those bounty hunters… what the hell…?'_

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Live (Act 2 end)**

"Ugh… my head hurts…" Zastin groaned, waking up.

"What is your name? Who are you, why are you from? What are you really doing here?" Questions one after another shot out from Gid.

"Uhghhh… where am I?" Zastin groaned as he sat up. "My head hurts…"

"Welcome back, pervert~" Gid winked, shooting the now hooded girl behind him a glance.

"P-Pervert, what-" But then it all came back to him as he looked beyond Gid to the hooded figure behind.

"I-I'm so sorry! I-I don't know what came over me- !"

"I do, it's called puberty." Gid quipped, earning him a glare from the swordsman.

"It's quite alright, it won't happen again so long as you don't see my bare face. But a better questions is," She said as she turned to Gid, how are _you_ not affected by my beauty?"

"Your beauty?! You're calling yourself beautiful again-?!" Gid protested comically.

"Well I can't help it can't I?! Your friend over there certainly thought so!" She retorted, pointing at Zastin.

' _She can't help it?'_ Zastin raised a confused eyebrow. "I… I don't get it… Who are you, miss?" Zastin asked curiously.

"Yeah," Gid agreed in concert, turning around to face the mysterious girl. "We've told you who we are, now who are you?"

The girl only gave a sigh in response. _'How am I going to play this…'_

* * *

 **(Music for Mood: Gabriella's video – Logan OST)**

"I am the daughter of a trader, separated from my group of traders when we were attacked."

"Attacked? By who?" Zastin asked.

"The three bounty hunters back there?" Gid wondered recalling their encounter.

"Yes. Those three have been hot on my-our tails for quite some time. In the chaos, I was separated and fled on a small ship. But it was shot down and I'm stranded here when my aircraft was damaged beyond repair." Sephie explained. The Devilukeans nodded in understanding, given their situation.

"Where's the wreckage of your ship now?" Gid asked.

"Two hundred and fifty kilometres away on a canyon in flames." Sephie sighed, prodding the campfire with a wooden stick.

"…" Zastin remained silent and Gid yawned. "So, what's the plan now?" Zastin asked aloud.

"I suggest we relocate to a safer more discreet location first. Out here in the woods, it's only a matter of time before those hunters catch up to us."

"Where would we go? This planet is uninhabited as far as we know it."

"It's uninhabited yes, but it wasn't always like this." Sephie answered. Zastin blinked in surprise at the revelation.

"How… how do you know this?" The swordsman questioned, eyeing the Charmian girl.

"On my way here, I stumbled across some ruins inside a small cave system on a mountain. It is not far from here in fact. I think we should head there tomorrow."

"Yes but you've been there before, don't you think they'll know?" Zastin presumed.

"Well if there's any suggestions, I'm happy to listen." The Charmian said.

"I have something to say, hm?" Gid interrupted as the two turned to the red eyed Devilukean. "Our goal, our only goal, is to get off this planet and head to Planet Deviluke. To do that we'll need a spaceship. A functional one." Gid gestured the wreckage that surrounded them. "The way I see it, there's only one simple solution: We need a spaceship, they _have_ a spaceship." He said plainly.

"This feels somewhat familiar..." Zastin sighed.

"…" Sephie gave Gid a blank stare and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Gid shrugged, "You think the ship we arrived in was ours in the first place?"

"So, we steal yet another ship." Zastin said. _'With three people… it might just be possible…'_

"Oh c'mon~ Don't be like that! I promise this'll be the last time we do this." Gid slapped Zastin on the back as he stood up. "Tomorrow we head for the mountain with the caves for safe refuge, then device a plan!" He announced as he walked back into the ship wreckage, yawning. "That's that… yawn…"

"Is he always like this?" Sephie asked Zastin, who only laughed nervously while scratching his head.

"Hahaha… He's not one to listen. But when he has it figured out, nobody can stop him." Zastin said reluctantly. "I'm gonna go get some sleep, we've a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

"A-Ah, yea sure…! I won't be staying up long." Sephie said. "I'm just gonna sit here for a minute."

* * *

 ***Approximately 2am***

" _Sephie… My sweet baby girl…if you have opened this message, then the worst of fates has surely befallen me and our remaining Charmian rebels spread out across this galaxy. Your mother and I loved you very much, and…_ " The holographic message played back at the palm of Sephie's hand. The pink haired Charmian sat on a log not far from the camp, alone, hunched forward as she listened to the message again.

"You lied to us." A voice said from behind her.

"…-!" Sephie jumped in shock at the abrupt interruption. With a swift push of a button, the video message disappeared from the digital screen, seemingly retreating into the girl's orange glowing forearm bracer.

"Please don't move." The voice commanded. Sephie's eyes widened with fear when she felt a chilling piece of metal lying on her shoulder. Sephie soon recognised the voice to be Zastin's.

"Z-Zastin-san, wh…what are you doing…?" She asked worriedly, not once turning around.

"What aren't you telling us." Zastin demanded. "There's another reason why you're being targeted is there?"

"It hardly matters now why I'm being targeted, what matters is that we get away from them right?" Sephie replied.

"Who are you, I mean who are you _really_?" Zastin demanded.

"You'd honestly think I'd reveal everything to strangers whom I've just met?" Sephie retorted reasonably.

"P-Perhaps not… but I…I'm not going to ask again..." Zastin said shakenly, his sword quivering in his hand. Then and there, images of blood flashed through his mind as his hands seemingly seeped red.

"I don't believe you're going to cut me down here and now, Zastin-san." The girl said, standing up and turning around to face the boy. "I believe you're a good person, an honest and noble person."

"Wh-!" Zastin gritted his teeth as he immediately averted his gaze from her alluring face, as tempting as it was. "T-Turn around!" The thirteen-year-old demanded, face flustered and sword shakenly raised.

"Besides, it's not like the two of you've been completely honest with me either." The Charmian said, taking a step closer.

"Wh-What do you mean...?!" The swordsman responded, eyes to the corners.

"The silver and gold pendant around Gid's neck. That is no ordinary pendant. It bears the insignia of the Trident, a symbol of royalty amongst Devilukeans if I'm not mistaken." The teenage girl explained.

' _H-How does she know?!'_ Zastin's mind raced with questions. "Wh…"

"Oh please, any upstanding citizen with a classical education would know this." Sephie said. "So? It's my turn, who really are you two?"

"…" Zastin remained silent, lowering his sword. But a battle brewed within his mind. _'W…Why do I feel like I can trust her…?'_

* * *

 ***A while later…***

"Let me get this straight," Sephie said. "Gid is the legitimate long lost descendant of the first King of Deviluke of house Lucione. And the ghost of the first king Davo has entrusted the two of you with stopping the great war… did I miss anything?"

"…" Zastin shook his head slightly.

"And does Gid have a plan to reclaim his rightful-" Sephie asked, but was interrupted.

"-Gid-nii doesn't know." Zastin replied, much to Sephie's confusion.

"But… if you tell him, don't you think-?"

"Gid-nii must _never_ know!" Zastin warned sternly. "I promised the king I wouldn't tell him about his bloodline." He said.

By now Sephie was more than shocked. Here she was, stranded on a planet with the first outsider able to gaze upon her, who so happened to be someone of importance on a mission of the same caliber. Perhaps the boy was making everything up, and that they were just two Devilukeans orphans who were nobody special. But the honest nature of Zastin had struck Sephie as something admirable and fascinating.

"Who are _you_ , Zastin?" Sephie asked, perplexed. _'To have something so monumental entrusted to some thirteen-year-old…'_

"…I'm no one." The heterochronic eyed teen replied.

"I meant, who are you to _Gid_."

Zastin looked down, his blade giving off a hint of green glow in the night. "I am his appointed knight, and anything he needs me to be. Warrior, shield, protector, caretaker, brother, friend, killer, sacrifice, and everything in between."

"…Hehe… a knight huh?~" Sephie asked, then reduced into a fit of giggle. _'Well you certain talk like one, that's for sure.'_ She thought, amused by the child's claim. "The world hasn't seen one of those in centuries."

"Ha…" The swordsman let out a single chuckle, looking up at the night sky. "You go ahead and laugh, just like he does… But someday, when Gid-nii takes the throne, I'll be standing by him, in a suit of armor, a cape, with a handsome sword by my side." He said hopefully.

' _His mentality, he's no ordinary thirteen-year-old…'_ Sephie thought in hidden amazement. _'Maybe I can trust these two weirdos after all…'_ She concluded as she turned and walked past Zastin towards the camp. "We'd best get some rest, o noble knight~"

"…You still haven't told me who you are." Zastin pointed.

"Perhaps if we get off this rock, I will give you two the chance to find out." The Charmian dismissed with a faint smile, disappearing behind trees.

* * *

 ***Next morning…***

 ***Music for Mood: The Shimmering Sands – Assassin's Creed Origins OST***

"There." Sephie pointed. "Can you see that mountain pass over there?"

"Huh…" Gid took the pair of binoculars from Sephie and looked to the horizon. The three stood upon a small slope. To the distance, a brownish mountain pass housed many a canyons and cliff faces. A desolate and rocky landscape. "It won't be easy." The red eyed Devilukean said, passing the binoculars to Zastin.

"But it's the best chance we've got." Zastin agreed, hauling a medium sized bag of supplies over his shoulders.

"Zastin did you get the V.I. matrix from the ship?" Gid asked.

"Yea right here," Zastin said, showing the segmented cube of technology. "Why do we need it anyway?"

"It's also the blackbox to the ship. If the bounty hunters somehow get a hold of this, they can trace us back to Moon Endurance and identify us. Best to carry it with us."

"Seems your resourcefulness makes up for your height~" Sephie chimed nonchalantly.

"You wanna go, ugly?!"

"Let's go!" Zastin broke the two off, dragging his brother down the slope.

Step by step, the rising sun ascended to the heights of the sky, basking everything in its warmth. And step by step the three teenagers marched. It was a perilous journey, not with predatorial fauna or flora, but with its harsh winds and unwavering heat. The distant horizon slowly becoming fuzzy and wavy. But still they pushed on.

* * *

 ***Hours later…***

With the slow day rusting over, the distant slowly but surely became not so much.

"Hah…Hah…" Zastin huffed, "How much further?" He puffed out, downing the canteen of water down his mouth.

Sephie held her forearm out before her, tapping on the screen several times, before receiving short beeps as reply. "My scanner says we should be closing in on a cool temperature pocket by the mountain pass to our left." If we head along this canyon, we should see the cave." She pointed.

"You reckon they'll find us?" Zastin wondered.

"They'd be blind if they haven't found our ship wreckage yet." Gid said, "With any luck, we should hit the cave before they can track us."

* * *

 ***Similarly…***

Up at the pale pink sky, a spec drew closer and closer, a spaceship revealed itself as it descended with a ripping engine cry.

* * *

"We're too late." The voice of a bounty hunter said as he exited the aircraft, stepping onto the small damaged field.

"It seems our target isn't alone." The second one pointed inquisitively. "Could it be… the Devilukean from before…?"

"We'll check around the wreckage, even if they have grouped up, they couldn't have gone far by foot." The first alien hunter said, its boar like snout drooling.

"I'll look for tracks, the two of you spread out and look for anything useful." The third hunter said, slotting his warhammer back to his holster.

* * *

 ***With Gid…***

 **(Music for Mood: Vault – Mass Effect Andromeda OST)**

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Zastin physically shivered as he hugged his shoulders. His icy breath getting shallower with every step he took.

"Well, this is it." Sephie explained, hugging her cowl closer to her body.

"You said a _cave_ …" Gid said, "Not an entire _cavern system_." He pointed, staring at the several different tunnelways that stood before them.

"Well I didn't really have time to explore the entire system being chased by those three hunters now did I?" Sephie quipped.

"Well one thing's for sure, it's damn cold in here…" The swordsman commented, running his hands on the face of the rock walls, when he felt bumps and lumps that felt out of the natural norm. "…?"

"What is it Zas?" Gid asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'm not…sure…" Zastin gave the rocks a closer examination, his blue and grey eyes widened with surprise. "G-Gid-nii…!"

"Look at this…!"

"These rocks…." Gid squinted as he leaned in next to Zastin. "These aren't rocks… they're pipes!" The Devilukean realised.

"Pipes…!?" The Charmian gasped, walking over.

"These pipes, they must've been here for many, many years..." Gid deduced, noticing the rusts and the way its ingrained into the very walls itself.

"What is this place…" Zastin breathed in fascination. true to Gid's words, the rockface, with all its natural lumps and bumps, hid distinct pipes underneath them, snaking all over walls, covering the ceilings, floors, and even spreading to the tunnels.

"Only one way to find out." The red eyed Devilukean said.

"A-Are you sure this is the best idea…?" Zastin asked hesitantly, looking into the ominously lit tunnels. "Maybe we need to stick to the plan and figure out a way to get off this planet, not get deeper into it…"

"Ohhh~ Is somebody scared...?" Gid murmured, disappearing and appearing swiftly behind Zastin, hands eerily crawling up his back to his shoulder.

"EEEK!~" The swordsman yelped and jumped.

"Hahahaha!" The elder Devilukean laughed out loud.

"Gid, Zastin," Sephie called, "My transceiver is detecting a pocket of warm temperature deep below the surface."

"Okay, _now_ I'm curious~" Gid smirked, as he began marching down one of the tunnels.

"O-Oi! Wa-wait up!" Zastin called after his brother, worriedly looking back to the entrance of the cavern. _'Gahh… Let's hope we don't get lost…'_

* * *

 ***Later on…***

The path was deep and steep, snaking and twisting down to depths new to the three, so much so that breathing was beginning to pose an issue.

But the three younglings pushed on, fuelled by the sense of adventure, beguiled by the sense of discovery, and the reluctance to be left alone; Gid, Sephie, and Zastin followed the crystallised cables by the cave walls.

Hours passed and night beckons. The trio emerged into a room after many hours of delving and exploring.

"Woah…" Gid gawked, looking around newly discovered cavern. Stretching as far as the eye could see, the cave sprawled out into an almost open landscape, tumbling into an underground ravine, where a darkish liquid waterfalled down to its infinite depths. Purple and blue crystals had long since replaced whatever torches were available in the walls. The protruding crystals glinted from all corners of the landscape, softly illuminating the scene.

"Beep Beep Beep…" The transceiver on Sephie's forearm rang loudly. "This is it."

"What is this…" Zastin breathed, unable to comprehend the landscape before him. To the centre of the room, before the edge of the ravine, was a large cylinder of many components, pillaring its way to the top of the large cavern. "G-Gid-nii…" The swordsman nudged his brother, diverting his attention.

"…?" Gid gulped in nervousness as the breath of steam and heat exhaled from the cylinder, which now began to segment and turn. "What is that…?!" Gid asked.

"It's…Some kind of divine machine…" Sephie trailed off, watching the cylinder further segment and turn, lights began to turn on from within.

" **The entities approach.** " A voice bellowed as the earth began to shake a little. " **Scanning…** "

Without warning, three beams of light shone down from above, and soon lines of blue began running over the three aliens. "It's talking to us and…!" Gid pointed with fascination, but also looking around the cave nervously, pinpointing any exits if need be.

" **Scanning complete. Entity 1 Composition: Devilukean, highborn. Entity 2 Composition: Devilukean, lowborn. Entity 3 Composition: Charmian, highborn. Entity 4 Composition: Virtual Intelligence detected, threat assessment: Minimal.** " The voice hollowed out, like two voices speaking at once, one feminine and one masculine.

The three teens all eyed each other in confusion and whispered to one another. "What do we do…?"

"Do we talk to it?"

"Is it dangerous?..."

"U-Um…" Gid started with feigned confidence, "To whom am I speaking to?" He projected loudly around the room.

" **I am an experimental central governing artificial intelligence generation Q: codename Quantum. But to you who inhabits this planet, I am God, Creator, Gaia, Guardian.** "

"W-Who created you?" Gid asked.

" **As of this age, there is no credible or accurate means of measurement or comprehension for that answer.** "

"Amazing… to think…who can create an A.I that can control and preserve an entire planet…!" Sephie gasped in amazement.

" **This marks as the first re-entry to the inner sanctum after the Judgement. The entity wishes to know the why.** "

"We uh…" Gid trailed, _'Should I lie?'_

"We need a way off this planet." Zastin said straightforwardly. "T-To stop the war."

" **The…War...To which War are you referring to?** " The A.I. inquired.

"The… _Great War._ " Sephie clarified obviously with questioning eyes, but hearing no reply for from the machine, she elaborated. "…Five races… over hundreds of colonies across the Milky Way… hundreds… and _thousands_ dead, planets ravaged, innocents slaughtered! All because of…!" Sephie cried out, tears welling.

" **Be calm, child of Old Charmia. Your adrenaline is spiking.** " The A.I. spoke.

Gid and Zastin exchanged a look with each other. Seems as though they weren't the only ones passionate about ending the war.

" **There is currently one aircraft detected on the face of this planet. Besides this information, I cannot provide you with a solution.** "

"Great…" Zastin sighed.

" **However.** " The A.I. interrupted. " **I am able to provide you a means of finding the solution.** "

"H-How so?"

" **The three of you are in possession of a Virtual Intelligence Matrix, bring it forward.** " The voice instructed.

Zastin dropped the large sack over his back and retrieved the cube like object. "This?" He asked.

" **Place the Virtual Intelligence on the quantum pedestal and step away.** " The voice commanded, and immediately, a platform rose up from the ground, rapidly constructed on the go with small metal parts.

"What are you going to do?" Gid asked, looking in awe and wonder as the crystals around the cave ecosystem began to light up, lights seemingly transferring all the way down to the quantum computer cylinder.

" **The entity shall bestow upon it the gift of life, such is my right to do so, as God of this planet.** "

The cylindrical computer then began to compartmentalise, sectioning itself into pieces and spin, giving off a dull blue glow between its cracks.

" **Verifying calculations… actualising…** " The double-layered voice said, void of feelings. " **Actualisation commencing…** "

 **VVVVRRRRRRR….**

"Woah!-" Zastin gasped, observing the cube on the pedestal, which now segmented into little cubes, though still keeping themselves in place to form a whole.

A while later, the quake subsided and the loud hum calmed, and all seemed to be well.

" **Actualisation finalising… finalising… Welcome, new entity. Who are you?** " The A.I. asked.

" _ **I am…**_ " Without warning, a static voice replied, this time from the scanner strapped onto Sephie's wrist.

"… _ **I am…"**_

"… _ **Atlas…**_ _"_

' _The Virtual intelligence is answering the AI… It's almost as if its…!'_ Sephie thought. "Self-aware…" She gasped.

" **An artificial intelligence… born from a virtual intelligence. The entity shall aid you in quest to exit the orbit.** "

' _Amazing…'_ Zastin gulped, looking at the pulsating cube in his hands, a soft warmth emitting from it.

"Why did you do this for us?" Gid looked at the quantum cylinder sceptically.

" **Dimensional calculations indicate that allowing you to live is the best course for the survival of this galaxy.** "

"I don't understand!" Gid replied.

" **Nor could you, son of Deviluke. Dare not presume to comprehend the will of God, for its paradigm will destroy you.** " The A.I. boomed.

Then all of a sudden, the earth shook, and dust and rocks began to crumble from the ceilings and walls surrounding them crackled. Soon after the ground beneath their feet split with a thunderous 'crack'. The quantum computer before them now bled red instead of its pale blue.

"What's going on?!" Gid demanded, pulling Zastin back from the cliff as Sephie followed suit.

" **Processing overload. System wide cooling protocols activated.** " The A.I. read. " **Best… be on your… way…** " The static whispered.

"We need to get out of here!" Sephie looked around her. "This cave is going to topple over our heads any moment now…!"

 **Boom!**

"Watch out!" Gid tackled Sephie to the ground as a large piece of crystal came smashing down to the ground where she once stood. "Oomf!-" The pair fell to the ground, with the boy atop of the her.

"G-Get off me already-!" Sephie stuttered, pushing the boy's face away from her chest, who gasped for air in slight embarrassment.

"M-My bad!" the boy and the girl stood up as they headed for the tunnel from which they came.

"G-Gid…!" At the same time, a rush of smoke seemingly filled the canyon, which was now not visible due to the impending haze of grey and darkness that drew closer and closer.

"Let's go!" Gid yelled, ushering Zastin and Sephie towards the tunnel.

Hastily, the three rushed and squeezed into the entrance from which they came, only to have their opening crumble and shut behind them.

"That was close…" Zastin sighed tiredly.

"We need to resurface."

Gid huffed out. "The air's getting thin…"

* * *

It had taken a while, but the three finally did it. Step by step, they managed to reach the mouth of the mountain side cave, marching on despite of the calamity that was behind them.

"Wahh…!~" Sephie breathed in relief as she emerged from the mouth of the mountain side cave.

"We actually made it…" Zastin said in comical disbelief, dusting himself off rocky and metallic debris. "Thought we were done for…"

"Yea, but it looks like we spent more time down there than we expected." The older Devilukean pointed whilst looking at the setting sky.

" **It is currently precisely 11:45 pm in this planet's time zone, weather: calm and cloudy, with a 30% chance of perspiration.** " Atlas reported, its voice emanating from Sephie's scanner strapped to her wrist.

"WAHH!-" Sephie shrieked as Gid and Zastin onlooked with surprise on their faces. "How did you…"

" **I took the liberty of enslaving your scanning device, taking full advantage of its processing power and data gathering capabilities.** " The A.I. reported.

"Please don't do that ever again without letting me know…" Sephie sighed.

" **Very well, Master Sephie.** " Atlas acknowledged.

"Atlas why did you upload yourself into the scanner?" Zastin wondered. "And are you a person?" He asked curiously.

" **The entity…I… wish to learn.** " The machine presence replied.

"Learn? Why would an A.I. need to learn?" Gid asked.

" **I was created with the task of aiding the three of you in your journey. To perform this function, I must acquire data of the known world to expand my storage and processing unit. My purpose would be best fulfilled through machine learning and deriving meaningful information about the world.** "

"So you're asking us to help you… so that you could in turn help us help you help us?" Gid asked whilst Sephie giggled.

" **Precisely, Master Deviluke.** "

"We still have a problem," Zastin reminded the group, "We haven't yet figured a plan to steal their ship."

"Atlas how long are nights on this planet?" Gid asked.

" **Orbital spin analysis and galactic mapping indicates the night cycle to be precisely four hours long.** "

"Great. We'll set up camp and gather what little rest we can." Gid responded. _'Then we can discuss our plan of attack.'_

" **I do not require rest.** " Atlas voiced out as the three aliens sweatdropped.

"Then…" Gid looked at Zastin and Sephie weirdly. "Power down…?"

* * *

 ***Three hours later… Starship up above in the sky…***

"So they really did get together…" The bounty hunter said, twisting the rope in his hands.

"This is a problem…" The other sighed frustratingly, thinking back to the beating they received with shivers.

"If we snatch her now while the brat's keep, we might have a chance." The third urged, walking to the control chair. "I'm taking us in, get ready. And remember,"

"Be careful of that Devilukean kid, he's not normal."

* * *

 ***Dream...***

" _They found us! Princess Sephie, you must head for safe harbour while you still can!"_

" _I'm not leaving without you Afriel!" The princesses replied strongly._

" _I admire your strength and courage young one, but heed my words now, my sweet ward." Afriel knelt down, putting down her rifle as she cupped her hands around Sephie's adolescent cheeks. "There is hardly enough time to explain everything to you, just know that your father, may he rest eternally in Heaven, entrusted you to me for a reason. And that reason is for you to_ _ **live.**_ _Live to fight another day, to carry on the bloodline of an untainted Charmia."_

" _F-Fight…?... I-I don't understand…!-"_

" _Take this," and from Afriel's hands, a golden disc with mysterious etchings and runes. "It contains a message from your father. The galaxy must heed, before Apollyon ends it all!"_

" _I… But what am I supposed to do?!"_

" _Go find the other Charmian rebel cells across the galaxy, spread the word, Old Charmia is doomed! You are our last hope now, princess."_

"… _I'll never forget you, Afriel!" The young girl said, running away with tears._

" _Nor I you-" Afriel said, kissing the princess on the forehead. "Go now princess, Apollyon is near!"_

* * *

"Fuahh!-MMm-Hmmmhmm-!-" Sephie gasped as her eyes shot open from the memory, but was even more shocked to find her mouth suddenly taped shut.

"Bag her!" A voice hushed. And not long after, the girl saw darkness. Squirming and turning helplessly, she was hauled over the broad shoulders of a bounty hunter.

' _Success!'_ The bounty hunters thought collectively, wearily peeking at the duo of Devilukeans sleeping soundly nearby. The three gave each other a worrying look before hastily strutting out of the cave.

* * *

 ***Half an hour later…***

The rising sun had soon dawned on the cold icy cave, and the Devilukeans had gradually awoken one after another.

"Yawnn..." Gid stretched, "Jesus I needed that nap~" he mumbled inwardly, stretching out, his limbs and tail lazily sprawled on the floor.

"Ehh... Gid-nii... Where's Sephie-san?." Zastin stuttered, pointing to the other side of the cave.

"...?" Gid eyebrows raised as he turned and looked. "So she's gone, probably doing whatever girls do ya know. She'll be back." The raven haired Devilukean dismissed.

"No I don't think..." Zastin mumbled, walking over to Sephie's sleeping belongings. _'Padding scrambled and untidy... Backpack unopened...'_ But amidst his trail of thought, he spotted tracks and imprints along the floor of the cave.

"Gid-nii... We may have a problem..." Zastin said unsurely.

"What's up?" The brother replied lazily, strapping white tape over his hands along his forearm.

"Footprints... Multiple sets!" The swordsman identified, looking at the dirt foreign to the clean rocky cave. "There was a struggle here!"

"Are you sure...?" Gid asked, walking over to examine.

"I'm going to look around!" Zastin announced hastily, exiting the cave entrance, where he almost tripped over an object on the ground. "...?!" He bent over to pick it up.

 _'That's... Sephie-san's scanner...!'_ Zastin realised, picking it up from the ground, dusting it off.

"Zastin?" Gid asked, "What'd you find?" He walked towards the boy. Wordlessly the boy held the scanner up. Gid's eyes widened up in surprise, and the two slowly exchanged a look of urgency.

"Bounty hunters!" They both said in unison.

* * *

 ***Further away… uphill…***

Along a wooded hill, three bounty hunters scampered away further and further into the woods.

"Mmm!Hmmm!-" the girl tried her best to scream, but was muffled by the brown sack over her head. _'I can't do anything tied up like this...'_ She thought frustratingly.

"Stop struggling! That boy of yours can't hear you now!" The bounty hunter hauling Sephie boasted gleefully.

"Hah...hah... Can I rest, just for a bit?" The bounty hunter said, huffing from the nonstop running.

"No, the ship is only another fifteen minutes away. And we don't if the two brats have caught on already."

"Tsk." The bounty hunter sighed, but knew he had no choice. _'Surely we can't lose to them this time. Or Apollyon won't be pleased.'_

"G-Guys!" But the third bounty hunter whimpered, pointing to something down the side of the cliff. "…Oh crap…"

"It's them!"

* * *

 **(Music for Mood: Cap's Promise – Captain America Civil War OST)**

"There they are!" Zastin exclaimed, pointing his sword up the hill. "Sephie-san!"

"After them!" Gid rallied his brother as they sped through the woods, cracking branches and rustling leaves in their wake.

" **Sir Zastin, I am detecting electrical signals from the direction you are currently following, it is most likely a mid-sized spacecraft.** "

"How far?!" Zastin asked.

"Approximately 10 minutes from your location."

"Let's move it!" Gid called out, "if we don't get to them in time they'll fly off with their ship and Sephie!"

It was a wild goose chase up the hill. But unburdened by the weight of a hostage or supplies, Gid and Zastin slowly started to catch up the hunters. It was the most gruelling ten minutes of their lives, and Zastin was starting to tire. And soon enough, Zastin legs finally gave out, seemingly melting to the ground.

"Zastin!" Gid ushered, stopping for his brother. His eyes furrowed as he looked forward, seeing the bounty hunters running further out of the woods towards the cliffs edge.

"Huff...huff... Go on without me Gid-nii! I'll catch up!" The swordsman waved off. And with a silent nod and a pat on the back, the Trident tailed boy took off in an instant.

* * *

"There's our ride!" One bounty hunter said.

"Oh thank god!" The one carrying Sephie exclaimed.

"Don't yap, just get her on board NOW!" the boar like hunter said, activating a button on his remote as the rear panel of the ship lowered into a slope, allowing the three to enter.

"SEPHIE!"

"There he is! Close the door and start the engines!" A bounty hunter called out urgently, throwing Sephie onto the floor of the ship as the hunters took their respective seats on the aircraft.

 _'That voice… Could it be...Gid!?'_ she thought in darkness as she attempted to wiggle her way to freedom.

Just in that moment, Gid emerged from the woods and reached the edge of the cliff. There he saw the bounty hunters' aircraft. He could feel the deep increasing hum ringing in his inside and the warming of the air bashing his face as the ship slowly elevated from the ground.

' _It's taking off…!'_ Gid shouted inwardly in frustration, looking all around for a solution. He looked towards the left, and saw nothing but the cliff's end. He looked to his right, and saw woods as far as the eyes could see. And Looking back, He could make out Zastin's form emerging from the forest.

' _I have no choice!'_ Gid thought, running under the spaceship. The Devilukean hopped up and grabbed the skid of the ship's rear with both hands.

"…!" The bounty hunters blinked in surprise as they felt the ship suddenly rock backwards but remained in their seats. Sephie on the other hand was thrown to the rear of the aircraft, where the sack over her head fell out.

' _Did something get caught?'_ Sephie thought.

"It doesn't matter, now, engage main engines and warm up the drive cores for hyper jump!"

* * *

"GID! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Zastin called out.

"Most likely!" Gid called right back, swinging his body as he dangled closer and closer to the cliffs edge, his feet skidding along the rocky ground, kicking rocks into the abyss that was to follow.

As he neared the edge, his feet now found no solid ground to stand on. He was about a meter away from the cliff, and what little time he had, he used his momentum to swing his body, pulling the ship downward with his weight. And in that moment, his shot his tail out behind him, the trident tip anchoring into the rocky cliff face securely. His left hand dug into the rocky surface and held onto some tree roots protruding out from the rocks. His feet and tail now pressing on the cliff side.

A herculean hold.

"AHHHH!" Gid's struggled as he held the cliff with his left, and the ship on his right.

* * *

"Gas it already!" The hunter said as the other pushed the lever forward, triggering the rear engines fire.

"...!" Gid struggled as the spaceship he was holding onto stretched him out, pulling on his arm. His face dripping with sweat as the engine blasted out a continuous stream of heat.

"Gid-nii!" From a safe distance, Zastin cried out in genuine worry.

 _'I feel like I'm going to be ripped apart...!'_ But still the Devilukean persisted, quickly switching his grip on the cliff to an underhand grip. It was perhaps the heaviest thing he had ever held in his life. "I can't hold it for long!"

"W-What should I do?!" Zastin quivered.

"Something! Anything!" Gid begged, clenching his teeth and closing his eyes.

"A-Atlas, any ideas on how to get this ship down?" Zastin asked.

 **"Sir, if you scan the ship, perhaps I can identify potential exploits or weaknesses**." The A.I. replied.

"Right." Zastin huffed as he carefully brought his left arm up and his hand open, pointing towards the struggling ship. Then from the scanner, a net of green light emanated, flashing and casting over the surface of the vehicle in bursts.

* * *

"What is going on?!" The bounty hunters quarrelled frustratedly.

"Something is definitely holding this ship back! Without enough speed, the hyper drives can't charge up for the jump to outer space!"

As they argued, Sephie had managed to wiggle her hands free of her bounds. She rubbed her wrists in relief and crept towards the side of the ship, looking through a small window.

"...!" Sephie's pink eyes widened with a small sparkle. She didn't think he was coming back for her. She pressed up against the glass and watched the boy with nervous and hopeful eyes.

* * *

" **Sir, the scans indicate that their piloting software is unprotected, if you give me two minutes and a clear line of sight, I can generate a backdoor and assume control of the aircraft."** The A.I. pointed.

"Do it!" Zastin commanded almost immediately. "Gid-nii won't be able to hold it much longer."

Meanwhile with the boy at the cliff's edge, Gid looked left and right nervously as his strength neared his end. But in that moment, he caught a glimpse of Sephie's face from the other side of the window. He steeled himself and clenched his teeth and grip as hard as he could. Through sheer effort, he pulled and contracted his left arm. "Gnaaahhhhh!" He seethed out, curling his left arm as his body drew closer and closer to the cliff.

"I don't believe it..." Zastin stuttered in awe as he witnessed the ship being dragged back by his brother.

" **Sir, the backdoor is ready for transmission**."

"Initiate!" Zastin gave the order.

" **Modulating… standby for transmission…"** The scanner around the boy's forearm then began to light up in gold as a light hologram of a gauntlet traced over Zastin's hand, streams of light pulsing and converging at the palm of his hand.

 **VVRRRrrrrr….**

* * *

"What just happened?!" The bounty hunter said, taking his hands off the control stick and the levers.

"The controls aren't working!"

"What do ya mean not working?!"

"I mean the ship is flying on its own!"

"What?!"

Then without warning, the spacecraft rocked and shook, as if it had a life of its own.

* * *

"Gid WATCH OUT!" The swordsman yelled out as he saw the ship began to reverse course, levitating backwards at an alarming rate.

"Whoaa!-" Gid immediately let go of the ship, scuttling back up the cliff face and ran for safety. As he did so, he could feel the shadow of the aircraft looming over him, increasing in size.

He jumped forward and summersaulted on the ground, dodging the ship in the nick of time as it crash landed back atop the cliff.

Eventually the boy recovered and stood up.

"Are you alright?!" Turning his head, he was met with a worried Zastin, who came running to his side.

"I'm...I'm fine... I think…" But he was far from it. Huffing and puffing, Gid was evidently exhausted, his left arm and tail showed signs of burn as smoke sizzled out from the bloodied wounds.

"S-Sephie!" Gid remembered.

* * *

 ***Inside the starship…***

"Ugh…" Sephie awoke after a brief period of unconsciousness, eyes blinking open in confusion.

 _'Where am I...'_ but then it all came back to her as she abruptly sat up, looking around the ship.

It was a mess, with stuff and furniture toppled over.

"Cough cough..." One bounty hunter choked, lying on the ground in pain.

"Christ... We almost died..." He stuttered as he pushed himself off the ground. There he noticed his fellow bounty hunter lying next to him, blood pooling from his head.

"Fuck..." He muttered, checking the dead man all over, looking for signs of life.

"Stop her!" The other remaining bounty hunter called out and ran towards Sephie with his weapon drawn. Urgently, the girl slammed a button beside the rear bay door, waiting for the door to open.

"You're not going anywhere!" The bounty hunter growled, now grabbing the girl by the wrist.

Amidst the struggle, Sephie's hood fell off her head, exposing her face. The bounty hunter promptly halted his grip.

 _'I have no choice!'_ Sephie thought as she looked at the hunter directly in the eye.

" _ **Stop Breathing."**_ Sephie whispered sensually.

Much to the other bounty hunter's horror, he watched as almost instantly as his friend seemingly obeyed her command, letting go of the girl's wrist and promptly fell on the floor. Gurgles and light hoarse gasps escaped from the man as he helplessly writhed on the ground, and his eyes were purple with bloodshot until he was no more.

"What the hell…" The last remaining bounty hunter turned away from the scene with horror.

* * *

"The doors are opening." Gid pointed, holding his right shoulder in pain.

"They'll get what for." Zastin drew his sword, protectively stepping before Gid.

Suspensefully, the rear door came all the way down, and out ran one pinked haired girl.

"Gid!" She called out.

"Sephie…?!" Gid and Zastin realised, flabbergasted at the turn of events.

"Are you alright?!" Sephie asked, running to Gid's side.

"Y-Yea…" The Devilukean responded.

"GET BACK HERE YOU WITCH!" The voice from within the ship soon emerged as the last remaining bounty hunter.

"Stand back m'lady." Zastin warned as he approached the hunter. "Let me handle him."

' _Fuck… the others are dead, our ship is down, and she's with them…there's no way I'm getting outta this…'_ Thoughts and escape plans raced through the hunter's head, but he was at a cliff's end, there was really only one realistic way to go.

"There's nowhere to go, bounty hunter! Surrender and face justice!" The swordsman spoke, stepping forward.

"It matters not if you kill me, I'm just a small fish in the big pond. Apollyon will get what she wants eventually." The hunter said, raising his hands. "If you wish to kill me, then so be it."

"…." Then for a while, Zastin stood, the black and green sword in his hands was visibly shaking, which did not go unnoticed.

"Oh…" The hunter chuckled, "Is this your first time threatening someone?..." He taunted. "You must be what, like thirteen?"

"S-Shut it!" Zastin seethed. But his heterochronic eyes widened as he saw his hands, now thick with blood.

"It's okay, don't be shy boy, here I'll help you out~" The hunter continued, taking steps towards the boy. "All it takes is one poke through the heart, and its done." He said. And despite with Zastin's sword raised, he continued forward.

"Or would you let your little friends know just what a coward you are." He taunted further, now walking into the path of Zastin's sword.

Zastin breathing quickened as he quickly glanced at Gid and Sephie behind him, watching on tensely.

"G-Gid… maybe we should-"

"-No…" The Devilukean shook his head.

"But he's got a weapon!"

"And so does Zastin." Gid explained. "Believe it or not, this actually works out better for him. He's so attuned to swordplay that any other form of foe he goes up against is difficult for him. Now that the playing field is even, they're both on equal ground. But the catch is – in the field of swordplay-"

"Face your death with honour!" Zastin chanted, stepping forward with simple stabs.

"You're outta your depth kid!" The hunter growled, returning the favour with wild diagonal swings.

Naturally, the Devilukean replied with controlled retreats, making contact with the sword with his own.

"-Zastin has no equal." Gid finished definitively, a sure glint in his eyes.

Ultimately, Zastin anticipated an overly done strike. He countered by stepping forward and poised his sword with a high right guard to deflect the strike, and at the same time stabbing forward.

A master technique.

 **Splurt!**

"Ku-ahhk!-..." the end of Zastin's blade founds its way through the man's throat, skewering the man.

Zastin flinched slightly as he pulled the blade from the man's throat. Blood trickled out from the wound as the man gave a few limp steps back, ultimately falling to the ground.

With Sephie's help, Gid stood up and walked over to the fallen hunter's body, picking up the sword from his hands. He then turned to Zastin.

"Hey you alright?" He asked, handing him the old sword.

"I-I'll be fine..." The swordsman responded, sheathing away both swords by his side, a perplexed look lingering on his face.

"..." Sephie watched from behind the Devilukean brothers, observing the horizon behind parked ship at the edge of the cliff. It was proving to be rather interesting to make them out, one moment they were bickering with each other, but the next they had gone above and beyond for a complete stranger that had just met.

' _Maybe I can trust them after all… Zastin… and Gid…~'_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: HI ALL, ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE IVE UPDATED, I KNOW**

 **SO HERE'S AN EXTRA LONG CHAPTER FOR Y'ALL!**

 **NEXT ACT WILL SEE THE TRUE BEGINNING OF THEIR WAR TORN TALE, SO STAY TUNED!**

 **AND AS ALWAYS, MORE CHAPTERS STILL TO COME!**

 **REVIEWS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED AND LOVED!**

 **CRITICISMS ARE ALSO ACCEPTED.**


	8. Act 3 - Deviluke

**Chapter 8: Act 3 - Deviluke**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _With Sephie's help, Gid stood up and walked over to the fallen hunter's body, picking up the sword from his hands. He then turned to Zastin._

 _"Hey you alright?" He asked, handing him the old sword._

 _"I-I'll be fine..." The swordsman responded, sheathing away both swords by his side, a perplexed look lingering on his face._

 _"..." Sephie watched from behind the Devilukean brothers, observing the horizon behind parked ship at the edge of the cliff. It was proving to be rather interesting to make them out, one moment they were bickering with each other, but the next they had gone above and beyond for a complete stranger that had just met._

' _Maybe I can trust them after all… Zastin… and Gid…~'_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Act 3 - Deviluke**

"So… I think it's time I owed you an explanation…" Sephie began.

"You'd think?" Gid replied sarcastically, holding his brunt arm in pain as Zastin poured alcohol on it.

With the help of artificial intelligence, the trio had no trouble escaping the surface of the planet, cruising calmly in space.

"Who are you? And why do you have a bounty on your pretty little head of yours?" Gid demanded.

"Gid..." Zastin scolded.

"Let me warn you, if I tell you who I really am, I'll be placing you- the both of you- in danger." Sephie said gravely.

"Like we weren't?" Gid answered sarcastically. "Spill."

"Very well..." Sephie sighed. _'I suppose I owe them an explanation, especially after all they've done.'_

"My full name is Sephie…... of house Mikaela. I am the Princess to the old Charmian empire."

"The Charmian empire?" Gid raised an eyebrow. "I thought the empire collapsed years ago."

"My father, Mikaela, was the king of that same empire. But... Sixteen years ago...a military coup took place… which crumbled the empire from within. Lord Mikaela was betrayed... By Apollyon, his very own sister... And my aunt."

"That name... Apollyon..." Zastin recalled, "Yes, I remember the bounty hunter mentioning her, right before I-…." But he went silent after that.

Sephie saw the boy's distress and picked up where she left off, "She's the one who placed the bounty for me. Those three bandits weren't the first, and certainly won't be the last."

"This Apollyon... Your aunt." Gid started. "Why did she start the coup?" He asked. "Was it because she thought she deserved the throne more since she's the eldest one?"

"No... Apollyon volunteered to be first general to my Father during the entirety of his reign, she refused the throne from my father long ago, twice. The throne wasn't her objective."

"So why? Why all of this?" Gid pushed.

"Apollyon wanted nothing more than to keep the Charmian genes pure and exclusive, untainted. That's why when Charmians began to sire children with people of other races. She was driven mad, ordering every pure-blooded Charmian to be made sterile, forcibly."

' _That's horrible…'_ Gid thought.

"But she didn't stop there. One night, against the express command of my father, she rounded up all the mixed raced children, ordering them all to be slaughter, to 'cleanse the Charmian blood'."

"Her cause inspired many followers, but she was met with resistance from those still loyal to my father. And so civil war broke out, ravaging the entire planet."

"What happened then…?"

"I was only a babe then, but I can still remember the loud explosions and gun fires as my father carried me away from PlanetSide in his arms."

"The rebel Charmians then began travelling as a nomadic tribe, fighting and fleeing from their civil war across the stars. But... What Apollyon did... Even father couldn't have foresaw just how deranged she had become."

"Deranged…?"

"Not a lot of people know, but till this day, Apollyon is still hunting down every rebel Charmian group and bastard children across the galaxy.

"Aside from that, she also seeks vengeance, vengeance against all other races from tainting the blood." Sephie finished grimly.

"So how do you fit in to all this?" Gid raised. "I mean, you're travelling alone even before you met us. What was your plan?"

"My father..." She began as she rummaged through her rucksack, taking out an alien looking disc, "...passed on this message, as proof of Apollyon's treachery."

* * *

"As you see, I have to find the other Charmian rebels spread out across this galaxy, if there're any left..." She said, stowing the message disk away.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Gid asked.

"First step is to reach Planet Deviluke, then we can talk about what comes next." Sephie concluded, noticing Zastin gazing into his hands in the background.

"Atlas, give me an ETA to planet Deviluke." Sephie said aloud.

 **"Eight hours till destination, lady Sephie."** The A.I. replied through the ship speakers.

"I need to be alone..." Zastin said abruptly, dropping his swords on the ground as he walked away to another room on the ship. Gid and Sephie exchanged a look of brief concern, noticing Zastin's hand still shaking.

"Should we-"

"Give him some time. He will get over it." Gid said half-heartedly, picking at the scars on his face, flinching ever so often.

"...Those more you irritate it, the itchier they get. And your bandages need changing" Sephie pointed.

"Yea, I noticed- ow!" The Devilukean winced, holding his left arm in pain.

"Did you wait until Zastin left to do that?" Sephie asked, amused. "Don't wanna let your little brother see you hurt?~"

"Yea right..." Gid scoffed nervously and looked up and to the side, rather unconvincingly at that.

"Here, let me." Sephie offered, taking the roll of bandages from a kit on a bench by a window pane.

"No, you don't have to-I can-" Gid said nervously, fumbling with the old and soaking bandages around his arm.

"Let me." The Charmian insisted, sitting down by Gid's side, placing his injured hand on her lap.

* * *

 ***A while later…***

"You and I... you might not see it, but we're quite alike, I believe." Sephie said, delicately wrapping the new bandages around his arm.

"Yeah right, look at us." Gid scoffed. You're a _Charmian Princess,_ we're just two orphans with nothing going for us." Gid said frustratingly.

 _'If only you knew...'_ Sephie gave him a blank look, hiding an inward smile. "...Zastin tells me you have plans to become king of Deviluke one day." Sephie said.

"Heh, Zastin actually sold you on that huh~ Maybe you're not as smart as I thought you were~" Gid teased.

"..." Sephie said nothing as she suddenly grabbed the boys tail, bringing it to her lap.

"Ow ow ow!-" Gid yelped. "Careful with the tail, it's sensitive." He said, much to Sephie's amusement.

"..."

"Well I think it's admirable, striving to become king." Sephie said, gently running her fingers along the three prongs at the end of his tail. "But why?"

"…" Gid gave a blank look straight ahead, as if in deep thought. "To bring an end to the war that's taken the lives of innocent victims, childr-…" But he caught and stopped himself from going any further.

This didn't go unnoticed by the girl. But she had let it pass, for now. "With that attitude, you just might."

"Oh please, what chance do I have?" He asked rhetorically. "Unlike you, Zastin and I were born from nobody special, and came from nowhere special, and won't do anything special… Just two orphans with nothing but dreams, and a very fancy sword, I'll admit." He chuckled casually. "Still don't know where he found it…" He muttered casually.

"...I don't know." The Charmian princess replied, looking down at Gid's Trident tail. "Something about you tells me that it isn't going to stop you from trying."

"..." Gid turned away from the girl. She was absolutely right, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. To say that it's just a dream. Zastin genuinely believes that he's going to be knighted by him. He wasn't going to let him down. Not when there's a galactic war going on.

"It wasn't nothing special ya know…" He heard a whisper escape from Sephie's mouth.

"What's that?" He turned to the girl.

"W-What you did back at the cliff... I didn't think anyone was coming back for me." Sephie admitted, a hint of blush on her cheeks. "That was very brave of you."

"Oh please, anyone would've done the same." Gid waved off, suddenly feeling the need to scratching his nose.

"Don't think anyone _could've_ ," Sephie said, putting his now bandaged tail end down. "I've never seen someone pull back a spaceship with their bare hands before." She reasoned, now putting a pinch of cotton to the boy's bleeding face.

"Yea well~-" Gid chuckled in slight embarrassment, eye twitching with slight pain. "We needed the ship, that's all~" he retorted sarcastically.

"Yepp~!" The Charmian laughed, shaking her head.

"Ha~" The Devilukean chuckled.

* * *

 ***4 hours into the journey…***

Shaaaa… blop blop blop…

The sounds of water running filled the tiny metal room. Two clean hands found themselves rubbing against each other tirelessly, desperately as water splashed over the place, over the mirror.

"…!" Zastin's breath quickened and shallowed as he rubbed his clean hands together even faster.

But still the blood remained.

"It won't come off… why won't it come off…!" He choked to himself, looking at himself through his blue and green eyes. And though water dripped on the mirror, all he could see was blood.

* * *

 ***Four hours later…***

 **(Music for Mood: Prologue – Horizon Zero Dawn OST)**

"Wake up…"

"A pair of red eyes fluttered open, meeting a pair of blue and green ones."

"Z-Zastin? What's wrong?" Gid asked, sitting up from the bench.

"We made it!" The thirteen-year-old cheered excitedly, slapping Gid on the chest before hopping to his feet.

"Made it..." Gid trailed off. "To Planet Deviluke...?"

"Yes you dummy." Sephie said, hitting the button to the side of the ship's rear. Three jarring buzzes from the speakers later, the rear panel of the ship began to lower with a hiss.

The three occupants initially turned their heads from the bright light, feeling a large breath of cool air rushing into the spacecraft, filling their noses with the smell of a foreign wild.

It was apparent that they have landed at the foot of a small hill, seeing the gentle wooded slope stretch out before them.

One pair of legs after another, the three hopped down the ship, feeling the soil under them. Sephie and Zastin shared a look of excitement and they raced up the hill, whilst Gid yawned lazily, rubbing his eyes as he walked along after them.

Steadily, Gid trekked after the two, looking around. It was almost surreal, he could hardly believe he had made it. Deviluke? The winds picked up and leaves hushed all around him, the trees covering the sunlight once in a while. Unlike the desert planet they were previously on, this one was teeming with wild life.

"Gid-nii! Get up here!" Zastin beamed, waving from the top of the hill.

"Yea yea, coming!" He called out, picking up his pace up the slope.

Finally, he caught up with the other two at the top of the slope, where the woods ended.

"Check it out!~" Sephie said with a beaming smile, one that Gid took notice to. She leaned against a tree beside her as she looked straight ahead.

Gid stood beside Sephie, and Zastin was to his right.

"We really made it…" Gid breathed, eyes wide.

Deviluke.

A city of wood, stone and metal, sprawled across the horizon. From their vantage point, they could make out the distinct city walls that stretched for kilometres on end, gradually wrapping around to the ends of the horizons. The proud city laid on a small slope, not unlike themselves, and was clearly divided into several districts, each one with seemingly distinct architecture.

The outer district laid a ring around the city, with smoke coming from the roofs. The district eventually blended into a more metallic

"That's the castle over there." Gid pointed. At the top of the slope stood a grand castle, easily towering over any structure of the city. Standing proudly, the castle was a combination of stone and wood, with three towers protruding from different sections of the interconnected sections of the castle. All along the walls sat stone gargoyles, holding pitchforks, spears and swords, facing outwards menacingly.

Sephie looked to the side, and saw a bittersweet smile on Gid's face, she looked at Zastin and understood the situation. "I'm… I'll see to bringing our ship closer to the city." The girl said, leaving the boys alone as she walked downhill.

"…" Zastin said nothing as he too noticed the silence from Gid.

"The children from the orphanage…" Gid said, eyes never once leaving the castle. "…I told them I was going to take them here one day…"

"They would've loved it." Zastin nodded, listening to the wind.

"Are we going or not?!" They heard the distant voice of Sephie calling out.

* * *

 ***Couple hours later…***

Landing their spacecraft outside the city walls, they found themselves just one spaceship amongst an entire encampment of others.

"Well, this is it… the outer walls of Deviluke." Sephie said.

"Up close, it's bigger than I had even expected…" Zastin commented, looking up.

"That's what she said." Gid quipped, patting Zastin on the back and following the loose group of people, approaching the city gates.

Zastin deadpanned and Sephie gave him a dry 'seriously?' look as they followed suit.

"There's so many people here…" The boy wondered, seeing fellow spacecrafts of different sizes parked all over, inhabited by all manners of lifeforms, but none Devilukean.

"Guess we'll have to line up like everyone else…" Zastin sighed, following a trail of people to the back of the queue.

"….." As they walked, they noticed loud voices from near the city walls.

"What's all the commotion about?" Gid raised an eyebrow.

"Please, I'm beggin you! Let me in!" The voice of a woman begged.

"Ma'am, this is your final warning! I'm going to ask you step away from the gate!" The Devilukean guard warned, holding his rifle up, much to the refugees' uproar and fright.

"Take my baby, please! MY baby boy needs medical attention!" The mother sobbed to her knees, holding up a crying babe in her arms.

"Why aren't they helping her…?!" Zastin grumbled, watching on as the mother struggling against the guards, who pushed back.

"There's nothing we can do. We have orders to not let aliens or alien refugees in until further notice." The second guard said, standing before the large metal gate, cocking his rifle threateningly.

"PLEASE! SOMEBODY!"

"…I can't take this." Gid said, marching down the queue of people, bumping against the crowd of people until he eventually made it to the mother and child.

"Gid! W-Wait- oh what the hell…" Sephie grumbled, as she followed the brash Devilukean to the gate.

"Can I help you?" The guards asked, turning to the three teens.

"We need entry into the city, and that lady with the baby needs help immediately." Gid demanded.

"We can't help you with the second thing, but you're Devilukean, so step over to the side and the lieutenant will process you." The guard said.

"We're not going anywhere until you get help for the child!" Gid argued.

"Well then I hope you brought a blanket, cause you're going to be here for a while." The guard sassed.

"C'mon Gid…" Zastin ushered his brother quietly, moving towards the side of the gate, where a third guard sat behind an oak desk with an odd-looking computer on it.

"You, red eyes, step on the yellow tape and look directly forward please." The guard instructed routinely as he pulled out a handheld tool with a light at the end.

"...?" Complying wordless, the boy saw the guard holding the light up against his left eye for a few moments, before hearing a sharp beep animating from the computer. The guard returned to his side of the desk and examined the monitor.

"State your full name and age please." The guard instructed.

"Gid of Deviluke, sixteen."

"No last name huh… are you an orphan?" The guard muttered as he inputted the details into the system.

"From Moon Endurance." Gid added.

The guard had a brief look of surprise on his face. "You from the orphanage that was burnt to the ground four years ago?"

"... That's the one." Gid replied.

"My condolences, young one." The guard offered his sympathies, before turning to Zastin next to him. "You, you're with him?"

"Y-Yes sir."

"Same thing, on the line."

"Z-Zastin of Deviluke, thirteen..."

"Christ... It's good to know that at least some made it out alive..." The guard muttered, tapping away into the console. A few moments after, the guard spoke.

"Alright, the Registry of Citizens checks out, welcome to Planet Deviluke. NEXT!" The guard called to the front of the queue.

"A-Ah, she's with us... From the orphanage." Zastin pointed to Sephie, who stood awkwardly between the woman with the child and the desk.

 _'Their Orphanage...'_ the girl noted in her head.

"Step forward please." The guard instructed the girl, "and I'm going to have to ask you to remove the hood."

For a brief moment, panicked overcame the three as they glanced at each other, hesitating on a reply.

"She… can't." Gid reasoned.

"Well why not?" The guard asked, eyebrows raised, folding his arms.

"Back four years ago, you remember the orphanage fire… her face… Gid explained grimly, looking down.

"It's been disfigured from the fire." Gid convinced.

"..." The guard tried leaned over to try and peek underneath the hood, but the girl turned away timidly.

"I'm so sorry. But...be that as it may, it's regulation to reject any non-Devilukeans."

 _"I don't think that's necessary."_ The girl spoke in a soft tone. And for a while, the guard froze, a subtle shift in his expression confused the two Devilukean orphans.

"I…I suppose we can overlook the process. But I still need your name." The guard replied.

"Sephie."

"Sephie huh… you have quite the beautiful voice." The guard complimented.

"T-Thank you." The girl smiled under the hood.

"You three are free to enter and leave the city as you please."

"Before that," Sephie said, resting a hand on the guard's arm, pointing to the weeping mother and child by the gate. "That child is clearly sickly, please, good sir, you must get medical help right away."

"You...You're right, alien or not, that is a child." The guard stood up, and walked over to the gate. "Privates! What are you standing around here for! Get the mother and child inside to the medical bay for vetting."

"B-But Sargent, they're al-"

"-That's a child! And that's that." The Sargent ordered, before turning to the three teenagers. "You three head on in, we'll take care of this."

"Al…right...?" Gid replied, exchanging a bewildered look with Zastin.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! Truly, God bless you!" The mother chanted holding Sephie's hand, profusely crying and thanking her.

"I-Its quite alright...!" Sephie replied, gently letting go as she followed the Devilukeans.

"That... Was amazing...!" Zastin hushed as they passed the gates.

"How did you convince the guard to let you in?" Gid wondered, intrigued as well.

"This is what happenes when you use _manners_ instead of demanding things." Sephie smirked triumphantly.

"We're finally here…" Zastin said, stopping in his tracks, taking it all in. The busy streets, teeming with life and activity

"What should we do now?"

"Let's go see the king!" Gid announced.

"C-Can we?" Zastin asked, looking at the castle to the not so distant horizon, stretching over their heads.

"Well what's stopping us?" Gid threw his hands in question.

"Well …Most likely Tower guards, foot soldiers, gates, the king's security, guns-"

"-Ye ye I get it!" Gid blabbed out, sighing.

"What should we do…?" The thirteen-year-old asked, rooted in his place, intimidated by the forever moving city.

"What we need is to set up base… figure out where we are and where we stand in all this… to plan our next move…" The three teenagers awkwardly turned their heads and looked around, dodging passersbys, ultil Gid's red eyes narrowed at something to his right. "…And I know just where to start…"

Eventually the other two saw what he was pointing at.

"Oh no…" Zastin deadpanned. "I know that look…"

A question mark seemingly raised over Sephie's head as she looked back and forth between the Devilukean brothers. "Hm?"

' _It better not be…'_

* * *

 ***One hour later…***

 **(Music for Mood: Date Shiyou ze Bell-kun - DanMachi OST)**

"NEXT ROUND'S ON ME BOYS!"

' _I should've known…'_ Zastin facepalmed. "I had hope to spare you of this, Sephie-san…"

"Is he always like this?" Sephie wondered, eyebrows twitching in embarrassment as they witnessed the drunkard of a Devilukean prancing around the bar, a beer mug in one hand and a bottle in another.

"…Pretty much…" Zastin facepalmed internally.

"Zastin! Com'ere so I can introduce you to these fine maidens… who were here just now!" Gid trailed off, sighing as the girls were nowhere to seen.

The swordsman marched up to the bar and held Gid by the arm. "Get a grip Gid-nii, we're here to gather information, not drink!"

"Tsk, c'mon…" The elder of the two retorted, handing the younger one the mug.

"No I don't want a-" Zastin left the mug at the bar and dragged Gid away from it. "let's just buy a map and get outta here."

Whilst the two brothers bickered, Sephie noticed an increasingly loud shoutings at the other end of the tavern. Almost getting pin-balled by passers-by, the hooded girl followed the crowd to the other side, curious to see what all the commotion was about.

"You did this!"

"They died for nothing!"

In the centre of the crowd were three men, two in simple civilian wears and one in a black overall camo gear and simple leather straps around his torso.

"Look… it's unfortunate, but this is war!" The uniformed man retorted.

"So we're supposed to do nothing as you throw our sons and daughters to their death over your mistakes?!" One of the civilians cried out, throwing a punch towards the man, who copped the attack head on. The crowd roared and clapped.

"You think you're the only ones who are suffering?!" The Devilukean in the uniform retorted.

"I lost both my sons in that battle, all because you couldn't make the right call!" The other man yelled, delivering a disoriented kick towards the uniformed man.

"Look pal, there's a lot of moving parts you all don't understand, so why don't we all take a breather and-" The tall Devilukean tried to reason, but to no avail. The two civilians were beyond reasoning. The time for talking is over.

The first civilian flipped over a round table and stepped towards the uniformed man, but immediately flew back towards the crowd from a kick.

The second man came ran in with his arms raised and threw a punch. But the man caught the punch in his hand, and delivered his own punch to the face, sending the civilian back, hitting the bar, knocking over stools.

"Hey Sephie, what's the occasion?" A rather tipsy Gid wondered, emerging from behind the hooded girl, laying an arm over her shoulders.

"Bar fight." Sephie sighed, moving his arm away from her shoulders. "And your breath stinks."

"Bar fight eh?" Gid raised an eyebrow, "And I wasn't invited?" He said, walking towards the uniformed man.

"W-Wait Gid- ugh…." Sephie looked up in exasperation. _'How does Zastin deal with him…'_

"Hey, Sephie-san," Zastin called out, having finally navigating through the tough crowd and caught up next to the Charmian. "I lost Gid-nii, where is h- ohh nooo…."

* * *

"Hey! How's about you lay off them and face an actual challenge?!" God announced, walking out of the crowd and approaching the tall man.

"And who the hell are you? Aren't you a bit young to be in here?" The man retorted, dusting his shoulders and rubbing his cheek.

"I'm the kid who's going to knock your ass out for that comment~" Gid taunted, stretching his shoulders, his trident tipped tail, wagging almost excitedly.

"Teach him a lesson!" The crowd cheered.

"Here we go..." Zastin facepalmed, "We'd best get out of here Sephie-san."

Without hesitation, Gid raced in with punch to the man's gut, to which the man was surprised with as he took several steps back from the recoil. _'He's stronger than the others.'_

The stranger retaliated by rushing in, shoving the boy with a force he was unfamiliar with, sending him back flying to a table, smashing it to pieces.

"What is going on here?!" The innkeeper shrieked, running into sight, her hands above head in disbelief.

"I got three hundred units on the midget!" The crowd wagered as Gid got up from the pile of wood and retaliated, coming in with a jab with his hand, to which the stranger parried easily. But his eyes widened when the boy ducked and turned, letting his tail do the work underneath him.

"Wha-" Using their tail in combat was not something one expected from a boy. Off-guard, the stranger tripped and fell flat on his back.

"OOOOHHH…!" The crowd winced as he took the fall. But Gid relentlessly attacked, coming down with stomps with his foot.

"Why you-" The stranger growled, yanking Gid's tail down. It was now Gid's turn to take the fall.

BAM!

"Ow…" Gid groaned as he fell to the wooden floor next to the stranger. The two at this point were tipsy, but chuckling to themselves.

"You got gut's kid, I'll give you that." The strange man huffed.

"My are fine, but how about YOURS!-" Gid replied, as he delivered a push kick straight into the man's stomach. The man coughed as he rolled away from the boy, standing with help of a few eager crowd members.

Gid followed suit and stood up as well, snatching a bottle from a person in the crowd, downing it and throwing it away.

The two ran toward, pushing each other around, sneaking punches and elbows whenever they could.

Finally, the two deadlocked brawlers swerved into a wooden support beam by the shop window and lost their balance.

* * *

"W-Where are we going?" Sephie asked Zastin, wondering why they're exiting the inn.

"As far away as possible from the _crime scene_. This isn't moon Endurance, he's not friends with any of the guards. And I'm sure the authorities won't be as lenient as they are when-"

 **SMASH!**

"…!" The two turned around abruptly, and lo and behold, the two fighters smashed straight through the window pane and fell out to the street.

"G-GID?!" The two teens shrieked in shock, seeing the two men now wrestling around on the ground.

"What is going on here?!" The innkeeper shrieked, running into sight through the door, her hands above her head in disbelief. The two Devilukeans immediately halted their fighting, holding each other by the collar as they turned their heads, seeing a rather angry and distressed innkeeper.

"Huh bad kid." The uniformed stranger scoffed under his breath, shoving Gid off of him as he stood up straight, brushing himself off.

"Miss Innkeeper, apologies for the trouble and damages caused this afternoon. The palace will reimburse you for all damages. These children have nothing to do this this, the fault is mine and mine alone. I bid you farewell." The man said, walking away, but not before giving the boy one last look.

"Better not cause any more trouble brat." The innkeeper warned, storming back into her establishment.

"Well, another inn that we're not welcomed in, you happy now?" Zastin muttered, pulling his brother up.

" _This_ is the first thing you do at Deviluke?" Sephie asked incredulously. _'What a buffoon…'_ She was unimpressed at the Devilukean, second guessing her choice of company.

"Did you at least get anything useful?" Zastin asked, clearly annoyed.

"Of course." Gid replied while retrieving a folded sheet of paper and other assorted items, peaking Sephie's interest. "This here is a map of the entire capital, plus 2 wallets and around 5000 units of hard cash."

"Now now..." Zastin warned whilst Sephie looked on in disbelief.

"I can't believe this?" The girl asked.

"What? We need the units if we're going to stay here, those poor folks would've drank it away anyways." The trident tailed boy dismissed.

"We're not thieves!" Sephie argued.

"Fine fine..." Gid said, nonchalantly dropping the wallets on the ground and began walking off. "Who was that guy anyway?" He wondered aloud, intrigued by the stranger. It's not every day that Gid meets someone who can match him in a bar fight.

"More importantly," Zastin interrupted, "What should we do now?"

"..."

"...Let's go see the king."

"What?!" Zastin and Sephie responded in unison. "Right now...?"

"There's no time like the present!~" The Raven haired boy said, already walking away further into the city.

"W-Wait up!" The two chased after the boy.

Weaving through the busy streets of the capital, the three teenagers slowly made their way through the currents of people, with the distant stone castle ever nearing. The first steps, turning into a jog, then to a sprint as hopeful crimson eyes gazed gazed, affixed to the future he will create.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Been a while, but hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!**

 **As always, more chapters still to come!**

 **Reviews are highly appreciated and loved! :)**

 **Criticisms are also accepted.**


	9. All Hail the King

**Chapter 9: All Hail the King**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _"Fine fine..." Gid said, nonchalantly dropping the wallets on the ground and began walking off. "Who was that guy anyway?" He wondered aloud, intrigued by the stranger. It's not every day that Gid meets someone who can match him in a bar fight._

 _"More importantly," Zastin interrupted, "What should we do now?"_ _"..."_ _"..."_ _"..."_ _"...Let's go see the king."_ _"What?!" Zastin and Sephie responded in unison. "Right now...?"_ _"There's no time like the present!~" The Raven haired boy said, already walking away further into the city._ _"W-Wait up!" The two chased after the boy._ _Weaving through the busy streets of the capital, the three teenagers slowly made their way through the currents of people, with the distant stone castle ever nearing. The first steps, turning into a jog, then to a sprint as hopeful crimson eyes gazed gazed, affixed to the future he will create._

* * *

 **Chapter 9: All Hail the king**

"What a tremendous idea this was…" Sephie muttered.

"Save your energy and keep quiet! Or we'll be discovered…!"

Castle Deviluke, a mega structure of wonder – a castle that dwarfed all those in its vicinity, a testament to might and longevity, symbolic of the people it represents.

Present along the castle walls of the castle were guards, patrolling in their predetermined routes as instructed, like dutiful ants.

Unbeknownst to the lot of them, three teenagers, through whatever methods, had somehow managed to scale up the side of one of the lower walls.

Not long after, from the top of the wall, a head of grey popped up, along with a pair of eyes, green and blue. Those eyes timidly flickered left and right. "Ok…!" Zastin gave the all clear as he pulled himself up completely over the wall, landing softly onto the stone and wooden walkway.

"Finally…" Gid sighed gratefully, following suit, he then turned around, extending a hand down. "Here, take my hand."

And soon enough, a hand reached out and held onto Gid's.

"Wahhh…~" Sephie sighed as she too appeared over the castle walls.

"I still can't believe we're doing this…"

"Oh c'mon, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, look at the view and tell me it wasn't worth it~" Gid said, nodding at the scenery beyond the wall as he leaned on the black marble statue of a gargoyle overlooking the city with menace.

"Gid-nii...!" Without warning, Zastin hastily tapped his brother on the shoulder, semi pulling him down from where he stood. "A guard..." The younger Devilukean whispered, pointing at a guard on the other end of the wall a short distance away, who stood idly relaxed by the ledge with his rifle in hand. Reacting almost immediately, the brothers knelt down and leaned against the base of the gargoyle statue, away from sight.

And while Gid and Zastin exchanged a look of relief, Sephie however wasn't as astute as the Devilukeans. The hooded girl remained perched on the ledge, unaware of the idle guard soon taking notice of movements in his furthest peripheral vision.

 _'...Shit!'_ Panic raced through Gid's mind as he left his hiding spot, pulling the girl down from the ledge by the hand.

"Wha-!" Sephie called out in surprise as she lost balance and fell towards Gid, who pull the both of them behind the gargoyle statue next to Zastin.

"WHO'S THERE?!" The guard called out, his rifle now in both hands, "IDENTIFY YOURSELVES!" The guard's gaze remained affixed onto the gargoyle statue.

 _'Oh no oh no oh no oh we're so done for...!'_ panic raced through Zastin's head as he curled up by the statue's feet, making himself as small as possible.

"I'm not going to ask again!" The guard repeated as he stepped cautiously in the direction of the nervous three.

"...!-" Sephie was about to make a sound when without warning Gid put his hand over her mouth and held her as close as possible by the waist. Gid shook his head reverently at Sephie, as if begging her to stop making sound.

The three closed their eyes and prayed as the shuffling of footsteps marched closer and closer to them. By now, the guard had reached the gargoyle statue, right around the corner from the three teenagers, where he stopped.

Seeing the tall shadow looming around the corner, Zastin held his tail still and covered his mouth to muffle his breathing whilst Gid held his breath.

The Devilukean guard looked around, peering over the wall as he observed his surroundings.

"..."

"Guess I'm seeing things..." He muttered to himself as he turned around, marching down back to his post. But the teens took no chances as they remained in their positions until they couldn't hear footsteps anymore.

"Whew..." Gid let out a small audible sigh as he relaxed, but not before noticing the position that he and Sephie were in.

"G-Gid-nii..." Zastin facepalmed.

"Ge-Get off me!" Sephie blushed feverently as she pushed herself off the boy, staggering backwards.

"You can thank me later, and by later I mean now." Gid retorted, the smallest of blush on his face.

"Don't go pulling me towards you like that!" Sephie exclaimed, clearly embarrassed.

"If it wasn't for me, we would've all been caught-!" Gid reasoned while at the same time crouching down. "More importantly, we need to get into the castle before the guard comes back." He said as he pointed to an open window a distance away.

* * *

 ***Throne room..."**

"My king, with all due respect, I believe not taking action is a bit... Naive." A female voice said.

"You dare insult our king, you outsider?!-"

"It's alright general. Now, diplomat, why should I place this bounty on this meaningless hunt? The empire's resources are valuable, especially now."

"My king, I understand your reluctance, but our leader believes that apprehending this individual can and will… mutually beneficial to both empires."

"Alright alright, you've made your point. Consider the Deviluke empire aware. Now, let's move onto the proposed trade arrangements..."

* * *

 ***Ventilation systems***  
"Can this day just get any worse?" Zastin complained, crawling on his hands and knees, his sword strapped behind his back.

"Suck it up, we're almost there... I can feel it!" Gid encouraged.

"You know for an air vent it's surprisingly hard to breath in here..." Sephie groaned, crawling next to Gid.

Fortunately for the three, they had discovered a small opened window by the wall, which they wasted no time climbing into.

Erring on the side of caution, Sephie ripped a section of the curtain off and tied it to her face like a veil, just in case anyone saw her face. From then they discovered a small ventilation shaft, to which they climbed into. The three teenagers crawled side by side, their bodies pressed up uncomfortable against one another as they inched their way through.

But soon enough, out of the corner of Gid's earshot, the softest of chatter graced his ears

"Shh! Nobody move...!" Gid hushed as the three crawled to a stop, comically crammed in a confined space.

"What is it?" Zastin asked his brother.

"I hear voices..." Gid breathed as he narrowed his eyes, trying to pinpoint the origin of the sounds.

"You sure it's not just the winds?" Sephie asked skeptically.

"I swear it came from..." Gif trailed off as he continues to wiggle forward, leaving the two behind.

"O-Oi... Wait up..." Zastin called out, but it was too late, Zastin and Sephie briefly rolled their eyes at each other as they continued to crawl through the air vent behind Gid.

Not long after Gid made another stop

"What the hell-"

"-Shh! Listen..." Gid silenced them as he gestured to what's underneath them.

"…!" Zastin and Sephie glowed in surprise as they realised they were directly over a vent opening. The opening hatch had holes gridded along its entirety, allowing for an obscured view of the scenery below.

"Is that… what I think it is…?" Zastin whispered.

"…Is that... a throne?" Gid asked.

* * *

 ***Throne room…***

"Very well, diplomat. The Devilukean Empire agrees to ratify the proposed amendments. Your king and I will meet at Heaven's Summit to further discuss the current affairs regarding this peace treaty."

"Thank you, King Alastor. Our king will be most pleased to hear of our continual alliance. I shall relay all that is said in this room back to my king as soon as possible."

"Well then you'd best be off," The king said, waving a hand. "A squadron of guards will escort you to back to your ship." With his final words, he got up from the throne, a picking up the golden trident in his hand, and hitting the butt of it onto the floor below, the blow echoing through the hall.

"I bid you farewell." The diplomat gave a deep bow and turned around, walking out with two guards following her. The large wooden cathedral-esque door cracked open as the footsteps of the diplomat soon disappeared form the halls.

The man on the throne physically slumped backwards into the chair, giving a deep sigh.

"Is something wrong, sir?" The man standing next to the throne asked.

* * *

 ***Air vent…***

"We've found them!" Gid exclaimed softly in glee. _'We're one step closer to reaching out goal!'_

"…!" Zastin and Sephie glowed in surprise as they realized they were directly over a vent opening. The pening hatch hadn holes gridded along its entirety, allowing for an obscured view of the room below.

"Is that… what I think it is…?" Zastin whispered.

"…The throne!"

* * *

 ***Throne room…***

 **(Music For Mood: "The Ballads of Londinium" – King Arthur: Legend of the Sword)**

Crrreaaaakk…

Suddenly, everything froze, and the three looked at each other. Their body weights combined were simply too much for the air vent panel to bear.

' _Oh sh-'_ But Gid didn't get to finish as the panel completely cracked, swinging open as the three teenagers fell down.

 **Boom!**

"…!- Protect the King!" The armoured man next to the throne immediately responded to the danger, stepping forward with a rifle drawn. Guards around the walls of the hall similarly turned with their weapons drawn at the abrupt interruption.

When the dust cleared, three figures revealed themselves among the rubble.

"Oww…"

"Why were we bunched up together…?"

"What the-" the man on the throne gawked in shock.

"Put your hands up where we can see them!" The tall man next to the throne hollered, wasting no time as he pulled out his sidearm attached to his leg, pointing it at the three.

Concurrently, two rows of uniformed guards seemingly popped out from the side of the grand hall, appearing from behind the pillars, all brandishing rifles that charged up with light.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands behind your back!" The guards yelled, now encircling the group of teens.

"Don't do anything stupid now…" one of the guards said, approaching Zastin and knocked his sword out of his hand, kicking it away from him.

"Wait n-" Zastin begged for his sword and stood up.

"Zastin, stay down-" But before Sephie could finish her warning, Zastin was tackled by one of the guards, who wrestled and submitted the ashen haired teen onto the floor, holding his arms and tail behind his back.

"Don't touch him-!" Gid warned despite the dangerous predicament they were in.

Recognising that voice, the man next to the throne snapped out of his zone and blinked in surprise. "Wait… Don't I know you from somewhere…-" his eyes furrowed. _'It can't be… the brawl from the bar…'_

"…It's you!" Gid blinked in surprise and sighed in relief.

"Men, stand down…" The man said as he lowered his sidearm as a signal for the other guards to do the same.

"You know them, Gigor?" The king asked with a deep voice, raising an eyebrow.

"We've met." The man known as Gorgon replied. "How's your face kid? Hope I didn't hit you too hard."

"How's your gut doing?" Gid quipped.

"Silence! Street urchin!" The man known as Gorgon quieted the room, although casually adjusting his armour in the abdomen region. He then turned to the king. "My king, I've met them earlier today while I was in the foreign sect."

"I see…" The king trailed off, confused, but accepting of the situation.

"Men, gather the children on their feet." The king ordered. Complying, the guard got off Zastin and pulled him onto his feet, shoving him back to Gid and Sephie, who also slowly stood up. The guards backed away from the three children, though their guns remained in their hands, just in case.

"Now… identify yourselves. And how did you get past security and into this room?" The man sitting on the throne asked.

"Who are _you?!_ " Gid retorted angrily.

"I am Alastor of house Abraxas, **King of Deviluke** , protector of the Devilukean Empire, second of his name." The man on the throne stated, using the trident by his side to help himself up, once again slamming the trident onto the smooth stone floor, the sound reverberating through the hall.

"…." Zastin and Sephie were sweating nervously, whilst Gid didn't seem to care at all who he was talking to.

"I want to know about the war, and what you're going to do about stopping it!" The red eyed Devilukean demanded, staring directly into the king's grey ones.

"You impudent child! Show some respect to our king-"

"-No Gigor, it's alright." The king said, now up from his throne, he slowly approached the three teenagers, walking down the stairs with the tall trident in hand, his royal red cloak dragging behind him. Zastin and Sephie gulped with his every step, drawing the king closer and closer to them. He was not the tallest, nor the biggest, but was still at least two heads taller than any of them. "The child simply doesn't know any better, do you…" The king reasoned, looking down upon Gid with eyes feigning a smile.

"…It's Gid." The boy replied quietly.

"Well young Gid, you're simply too young to understand the war. All you need to know is that under my kingship, we're onward to a swift victory against our enemies. Gigor!" The king then called forward his captain.

"Yes sire."

"Get these children out of here! And find someone to fix that ceiling." The king dismissed with a wave, before turning his back and began walking back to the throne.

' _He dismissed us… just like that…'_ Gid was furious, evident in his burning red eyes on his downward expression. Zastin noticed his brother's shaking demeanour and began to worry.

"Gid…" Zastin hushed warningly, while Sephie merely adjusted her cowl nonchalantly. _'Please don't say anything stupid… please don't say anything stupid…. Please don't say anything stupid…'_

"You better hurry back and sit on it while you can!" Gid called out as the Devilukean King Alastor halted his steps at the top of the steps, turning around.

"Oh….?" The king raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Oh boy…" Sephie closed her eyes. _'Idiot…'_

" **Better keep that seat warm enough so my butt doesn't freeze when I sit on it one day!** " Gid yelled, pointing a finger directly at the king.

The guards surrounding the group of teens tensed at the exclaim, and Zastin and Sephie froze in fear. _'He's really done it now…'_

And for a while, a tense silence hung in the air.

"…"

"…"

"…-" Gid tensed up as he saw the king's expression changed from serious, surprised, then amused. And for a second, as the king opened his mouth to speak, the trident tailed boy truly felt nervous.

* * *

 **(Music For Mood: "The Point of the Spear" – Horizon Zero Dawn OST)**

 **CLANG!**

"...Had to do it didn't you…" Zastin trailed off.

"What choice did I have?" Gid retorted. "Otherwise we came all this way for nothing!"

"You could've, I don't know… don't any other thing other than disrespecting your King in his _throne room_?!" Sephie suggested sarcastically.

"He's not my king." Gid uttered. "He didn't answer me about the war."

"Oi! You Three! Be quiet!" A Devilukean guard said as he walked past the stone corridor, clanking his rifle against the rattling cages of the cell.

"Come in here and make me!" Gid nagged, slamming his hands against the bars as the guard disappeared down the corridor and through the doorway. The boy sighed and slumped against the cage. "Gaadammit…"

"You friends are right, you should've stayed quiet back there." Out of the blue, a voice said.

The three was about to argue once again when they heard the sudden voice, they turned and backed away from the cell they were put in, curious at the looming shadow flickering down by brazier fire.

"It's you…" Gid breathed.

"Indeed." The tall Devilukean answered, his armour clanking coming to a halt, his half red cape stopped swaying. "We haven't been formally introduced. The name's General Gigor, Arch-General of Deviluke."

"You're the same man we ran into at the tavern… But… what were you doing down in the _tavern_?" Zastin pointed. "And that's my sword!" he pointed at the weapon in the general's hand.

"I'm the Arch-General, I go wherever I please." Gigor waved off. "However, sneaking past security and the wall and getting meters away from the King of Deviluke, what were you kids thinking. So I'm going to be blunt. What in the _hell_ were you three doing?"

"We just wanted answers, that's all." Sephie explained to the tempering general. "We wanted to know more about the war, and what we could do to help out."

"Well it didn't exactly _look_ like it, considering the short one over here openly opposed the throne and challenged for the position. If I didn't recognise you, we would've eliminated you on the spot." The general explained.

"Well then answer our questions - What's happening with the war? How do we win? Who are we fighting? When will it stop?" A flurry of questions flew out of Gid's mouth, surprising the general. "And don't give me a half-assed answer like your king did."

"Well, like my _King_ Alastor said, there're a lot of moving parts, many different parties and nations and empires involved, And it's been going on for approximately fourteen- fifteen years now."

"Yeah no shit. But you're not answering my-"

"-And I am under no obligation to." Gigor interrupted Gid sternly, before his face softened. "Look, the three of you are children and are in the registry of citizens, so we're letting this incident slide." The man said, holding up a chain of keys.

"Thank goodness…!" Sephie sighed in relief. _'Looks like we won't be spending our first night in Deviluke in Prison'_

"Consider yourselves warned, this is not a repeatable incident." he told them as he opened the cell cage, letting Sephie and Zastin walk through. "I believe this is yours." General Gigor said, holding up Zastin's sword. "It's one of fine make, make sure to take good care of it."

"A-Ah, Y-Yes General, thank you!" Zastin accepted the sword with bowed head.

It was Gid's turn to walk out the cage, but the three teenagers were surprised as the General slid the cage doors close, relocking it with his keys.

"Oi?! What the hell?!" Gid shouted.

"Gid-nii!" Zastin called in concern.

"The two of you should head on home first-"

"Well jokes on you, we don't have a home!" Gid retorted. The General and the two children outside the cell collectively sweatdropped and fell to the ground at the statement.

"…."

"Well…" Gigor coughed. "Then I suppose the two of you should run off now, I'm assuming you have a place to stay?"

"We do." Sephie said, dragging Zastin away.

"Very well then."

"W-What about Gid-nii?" Zastin asked worriedly.

"He'll stay in here tonight and will be released next morning."

"WHAT?!" Gid and Zastin exclaimed in shock.

"Consider this a lesson on respect for the Devilukean throne. Frankly, we're letting you three off easy."

"C'mon Zastin," Sephie said quietly, tugging Zastin on the shirt, "Gid, we'll meet tomorrow at town square, outside the Tavern, sound good?"

"Hai hai…" Gid waved, seeing his brother and Charmian friend disappear from the scene.

* * *

"So?" Gid asked, sitting on the bench by the side of the cell, drenched by the pool of orange evening sunlight "What are you still doing here then?"

"Look… Gid," The General sighed, "Why are you so fixated on the war?"

"How can one not? The street is busy with nervous people, young men enlisting for the army, the skies buzzing with aircrafts, soldiers patrolling every street corner."

"The war is the only thing that can explain the fire on Moon Endurance."

"Oh?" The general raised an eyebrow curiously. "But that fire four years ago was reported as a natural disaster."

* * *

 ***With Sephie and Zastin…***

Back from the castle, the two teens tiredly went into the inn, and occupied a small table at a corner.

"Should've known he'd drag us into something like this on our first day, I'm so sorry Sephie-san…" Zastin gave a exasperated chuckle.

"It's fine. We got off pretty easy if you ask me." The hooded girl replied, taking a small sip from her cup. "But if you don't mind me asking… this morning at the city gate… Gid mentioned an orphanage… and a fire."

"Well... it's a long story."

"Well," Sephie said, leaning in and resting her chin on her hands, "We've got time."

* * *

"Bullshit!" Gid retorted, his tail and hands banging on the cage. "It wasn't any natural disaster! A group of mercs carrying explosives unloaded their inventory on top on an orphanage and you call it a _natural disaster?!_ "

"…!" For the first time a genuine look of surprise was seen on the general's face. "How did you come into possession of this information?" The general inquired, eyes narrowing.

"Who do you think lived in that orphanage…" Gid muttered, "You've just confirmed to me that you know more than you let on."

"…" General Gigor was now in deep contemplation.

"…Well? Are you gonna say anything?"

"You're right," The general agreed, "But I can neither confirm nor deny that I possess any/more information pertaining to the Scorch of Moon Endurance."

"WHY?!" Gid was now livid. _'I'm so close to my answers, all that I came here for!'_

"Because it's classified." The general stated.

"…What…?"

* * *

"And till this day, we're still searching for the real people ultimately responsible for the fire, Deviluke is where our answers lie, we're… pretty sure of it…" Zastin finished.

"My God…" Sephie breathed. _'These two have been through so much…'_

"This is the underlying motivation for Gid, and I swore an oath to the first King of Deviluke to help Gid-nii on his quest."

"…What about you, Sephie-san?" Zastin asked, "What will you do now, now that you're on Planet Deviluke. How will you find the other Charmians spread out over the galaxy?" The thirteen year old asked.

"Well…" Sephie trailed, surprised. She sat in contemplation.

He was right. Her father's cryptic message did leave more questions than answers, most of which unknown. Atop of that, her partnership with the two brothers had reached their conclusion through their escape from the deserted planet. But a small tug at the back of her mind told her otherwise. Whatever it was, she needed more time to collect her thoughts.

"I… " Sephie gulped, looking at the ashen haired Devilukean. "…Why don't we head back to the ship, we should get some rest first." She suggested.

"Good idea." Zastin agreed.

* * *

"Classified... what do you mean classified?! WHO BOMBED OUR HOME?!" The boy yelled, his crimson eyes wept with anger as his grip now tightening on the cell bars "TELL ME!" Then his tail lashed out, flicking wildly out from between the bars.

The tall general swiftly grabbed on to Gid's tail end just as it was about to strike him at shoulder height. The white bandages, of the end fell, exposing the trident tip.

'… _A trident tipped tail…!'_ For a brief moment, the general's eyes widened at the sight of the trident end, his eyes lingered with slight interest. "Control yourself, _boy._ " The general gave the tail a firm squeeze.

"YA-Ouch!" Gid whelped, retreating from the front of the cell, his tail hung low in pain.

' _The last known Devilukean with a trident tipped tail was the first king and his descends, but… that's not possible!'_ The general quivered in his mind.

"Are you calm enough to talk now?" Gigor asked.

"…More or less…"

The general sighed, this wasn't going to easy. "Gid, I understand your frustration, I truly do. But matters regarding this incident besides its peripheral nature is strictly classified, at the highest order, any mention of it and you could be persecuted. Am I making myself understood."

"But I _need_ to know who!" Gid begged.

Then an lightbulb struck the general. "Well then, how about I make you a proposal?"

"A proposal…?"

* * *

 ***At ship… nightfall…***

 **(Music for Mood: The world and all its lessons – Horizon Zero Dawn ost)**

The sounds of the village of refugees fell silent to the Devilukean night, and it was all the more apparent in one particular spaceship.

"zzz…zzz…" The inanimate swordsman fell soundly asleep on one of the ship's side benches, sandwiched by warm sheets and blankets.

Sephie however, remained awake, sitting by the captain's seat slumped in a relaxed position, looking out to the Devilukean night sky. To the distance, several moons shone brightly in the eternal hue of black, floating amidst a river of glistening silver.

" _Sephie.. my sweet baby girl…..aasdf^)* &…..My sister instigated a military coup,…. A-f&_*&jpfo… A secretive civil war for our survival across the stars…johbjpak;n|}{P…..you… the last Charmian untouched by the sterilisation program… __**-Transmission error: Type three**_ _\- $%*_)[pu+*"_ The sounds of the fast-forwarded holographic video emitted from the Charmian's electronic scanner. The hologram of her father reflected off the girl's glassy pink eyes.

'" _Go find the other Charmian rebel cells across the galaxy, spread the word, Old charmia is doomed!"'_ Sephie recounted the words from her past as she sat in silence.

" **Lady Sephie, you seem to be in distress."** The voice of the on-board AI voiced out from the speaker from the captain's chair arm.

"…!" The girl jolted in surprise at the soft voice. "Y-Yes… I guess I am…"

"… **Is something the matter?"** The machine Atlas queried.

"It's nothing…" Sephie then turned and twisted her neck. "Can you do me a favor?"

" **A favor, Lady Sephie?"** Atlas asked, intrigue in its voice.

"It's…" The girl trailed off as she inserted the golden disk of the message into a port by the captain's chair. "There's this message, left behind by my father, it's rather important. But… it cuts off at the end everything, something about a transmission error… I can't quite make sense of it."

" **Analyzing…"** Atlas replied. And for several moments, there was silence, the silent whirling of machines filled the air. " **Analysis complete. It appears the video message is corrupted and blocked beyond a certain point through a polyphasic entangled waveforms.** "

"But… why would father block such an important message?" Sephie asked aloud. "Atlas, do you think you can try decrypt the rest of the message?"

" **I have already begun decryption processes. However, my matrix combined with this spacecraft's on-board processing power is estimated to complete the process in approximately 10 years time."**

"Ten years?!" Sephie yelped hysterically, "I don't have time to sit around for a decade?!"

" **Perhaps of I am provided with more access processing power and storage capacity, the process could be accelerated drastically."**

"Hmmm…" Sephie expression contorted into one of perplexed. _'How in the world am I going to do that?!'_

"One more thing," Sephie spoke to the AI, "How good are you with keeping secrets?" She wondered.

" **Secrets. You wish to transact private information between the two of us, hidden from whom?"**

"Can you keep all this under wraps… from Gid and Zastin?" She asked, her eyes looking left and right, then turning to look at the sleeping Devilukean uneasily. _'I mustn't get too attached to them, they're just children, and we'll be on our separate ways… soon enough…'_ She thought sadly.

" **I am able partition a portion of my memory dedicated to confidential conferences between you and I, yes."** Atlas agreed.

"Good, please do." Sephie said, hopping out form the captain's seat, yawning.

" **I will notify you if there are any new developments or progress regarding the decryption progress. Good night, Lady Sephie."**

* * *

Accompanied by the hue of silence and the whispers of the Devilukean night, in the moonlit cell, columns of shadow fell unto the gentle face of a young Devilukean soundly asleep, a certain gleam lit off the trident pendant laying on his chest.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Back with another chapter, it's been entire months since I've uploaded. This is partly due to exams and work :'D**

 **How did you guys like this chapter?**

 **Considering there isn't much, if any at all, stories dedicated to Gid's backstory, I'd figured this story might attract more attention. But oh well XD That could change in time, and it ain't gunna stop me from writing!**

 **And as always, more chapters still to come!**

 **Reviews are highly appreciated and loved!**

 **Criticisms are also accepted.**


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